More Than Words Could Ever Say
by KaLeRei
Summary: It all started when Konoha's top ninjas decided it was about time for two of their friends to get back along... but their plans might have just gotten them more than they bargained for, possibly more than the Title for Hokage, and all that money?
1. Chapter 1: Rainy Memories

:Okay, my second fanfic! This is sorta a sequel to my previous one, Fear and Regret, but focusing more on the Kiba-Ino part. Don't worry, you'll be able to understand most of the story without reading the previous fic, but hey, I would love it if you did!

:O yeah, I'm put up the chapters again... doing a bit of cleaning up and fixing a few things...

:I don't own Naruto… obviously.

:Chapter 1…

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**Chapter 1: Rainy Memories**

Ino Yamanaka was shifting in her bed, finding it hard to sleep, even after such a long day. She had just returned home to Konoha after four years of training. She missed everyone so much, but didn't really see anyone except the Godaime, who they reported their progress to, it was lengthy and boring, where Ino just stood silent, listening. The Godaime then sent her home immediately to rest, but she was finding it very hard to get any.

Come to think of it, the previous four years were probably the hardest, most tiring four years of her life. Training under Anko Mitarashi is in no way a field trip. It was hard, and grueling. But, after getting used to the hard work, constantly being called a 'maggot', and the intense boot-camp style training methods, it turned out to be okay after all. Now more confident in her mind-jutsu skills, and finding her true place as a shinobi, intelligence gathering was now her strongpoint.

Still, today was such a long day, all she wanted to do was to to sleep, for tomorrow would surely be an even longer day, with everyone asking her how she's been. She herself would also like to see how Konoha has been for the past four years, surely a lot of things have changed.

Giving up on trying to sleep by tossing and turning on her bed, Ino sleepily stood up and made her way towards the window. She looked up sadly at the dark sky above looming over the village, her long blonde hair untied and trailed behind her. As she looked out the window, small droplets of rain began to fall from the sky.

"You don't look to happy to see me…" she muttered, talking to the sky. She used to love the rain, but that was long ago. She despised how much the tiny little droplets of water were like tears, tears that started to flow from her eyes, she hated how much they reminded her of…him.

Oh, she could remember it like it was yesterday, one of her fondest memories…

_**Flashback: Seven years ago, at the Yamanaka Flower Shop…**_

It's been a week after the failed retrieval mission for Sasuke, and Sakura was still an emotional wreck. Ino tried everything to comfort and reassure her best friend. But she knew that only time could heal this type of pain. One thing was for sure though, she had no more feelings for the Uchiha. It was nothing more than a childish crush. She was ashamed of letting her friendship with Sakura slip just because of a pathetic rivalry for a boy who clearly wanted nothing to do with either of them. _Well, it was Sakura who ended their friendship anyway._ Ever since they clashed at the Chunin Exams, Ino had been jealous of Sakura, though she would never admit it. She was jealous of how boys seemed to notice her more and how strong she was getting as a shinobi. She vowed to herself not to be outdone again.

"Ino, I h-have t-to go n-now." Sakura said, tears now rolling down her cheeks.

"Okay, but take care of yourself. Don't worry too much." Ino replied.

The shop had an order of flowers to a customer three blocks away, which isn't really that far, considering she didn't have anything better to do, she decided to deliver the flowers herself.

As she made her way through the crowded streets of Konoha, carrying the flowers she was to deliver, she felt something furry rubbing against her feet. She couldn't see the thing, until it was too late, she got thrown off balance and fell to the ground with a shriek escaping her mouth. That furry thing turned out to be a dog.

"Oh, sorry. I lost control of my dog. It won't happen again." A boy with messy brown hair and red fang marks on his cheeks said, embarrassed .

He helped the her up, and noticed the Konoha headband on her waist. "Have I met you before? In the last chuunin exams right? You fought that pink-haired girl on Naruto's team." He asked, starting to pick up the flowers.

"Yeah. I'm on Shikamaru's team. You're the Inuzuka right?" She replied, brushing the dirt off her clothes. She hasn't really met the boy before, but she saw him in the previous chunnin exams, in that fight against Naruto.

"Yup, call me Kiba. Oh, I'm really sorry about this. Say sorry Akamaru." He said. His dog then sat in front of her and gave her the cutest puppy-dog-eyes imaginable.

"Aww. He's so sweet." She said, petting Akamaru, who yipped happily at her.

"Can I help you carry these?" He offered with a smile that showed his fangs.

"No need, I can handle it." She answered.

"But really let me help, it's the least I can do."

"Well, if you insist."

As both of them make their way to the customer, the sky grew darker…

Ino knocked on the door, and delivered the flowers to a sweet old lady. Good thing she didn't notice that the flowers had fallen on the street.

"Right. Now that that's done, would you like to hang out or something?" Kiba said, she noticed that there was something strangely awkward in his voice, like he was nervous or something.

"Why not? I'll be bored and it's not like I have anything better to do." She replied.

"Okay. So, where do you want to go?" He asked, scratching his head.

"Errm… you decide." She answered, she does not know much about him, and had no idea where he would like to go.

"Okay." He said, and led the way.

They made their way to a nearby sushi bar, about a block away.

"We're here. I hope you don't mind sushi, it's almost dinner anyway." Kiba said happily.

"No problem." She replied. She was a little hungry anyways, mostly because he always ate very little.

Once they found a suitable table, Kiba ordered for both of them.

"So, what's your team like?" Ino asked wanting to know more about the Inuzuka boy.

"Well, Shino is very silent and secretive he also sulks a lot, I guess it's also in his nature, though he and the bugs can creep you out at times too. But he is pretty clever, gets the plans all set and stuff." He said, clearly Shino was one of his closest friends. "While Hinata, the Hyuga heiress, is very shy, and she always seems to blush when Naruto is around. Two weeks ago, while Naruto's team were training near ours, and he called out her name, and asked her is she wanted to get some ramen later. Hinata couldn't even answer. She fainted." He said with a slight chuckle. "She always blushes and faints when Naruto is around. I wonder when he'll get it, for someone who dreams of becoming Hokage, he's pretty clueless." he said, amused."So… What about your team?"

"My team? Shikamaru's the lazy-ass genius that thinks everything is troublesome..." she said, remembering her pineapple-haired friend. "...and Chouji never stops eating, he even brings stashes of food on missions. But we can manage. They aren't so bad once you get to know them. Besides, our fathers are best friends, so we've known each other for like, ever."

Kiba noticed that Ino was a talkative one, she seemed to enjoy chatting... well, at least he wouldn't get bored.

Their food arrived, and Kiba noticed that Ino was hardly eating.

"What's the matter? Don't you like it?" Kiba asked worriedly.

"No, it's not that." She replied, fiddling with the sushi using her chopsticks.

"Then what is it? Are you on a diet or something?" He said, annoyed.

"Well…" was all she could reply. It was true. She's been on a diet ever since she could remember, it was just how she was.

"You're thin enough as it is." He said with a cocky grin.

"You don't know anything. Guys won't notice me if I'm fat." She said.

"You girls think too much about how you look. Besides, changing yourself, and fighting with your best friend just for a guy is stupid." Kiba said. "Besides, the Uchiha is gone, he's not coming back, and he should've saved us all that trouble."

"So I'm stupid now!?" She screamed. _"What the heck does he know!?"_

"No, sorry." he said apologetically. "It's just that you don't have to force yourself to get thin for a guy to notice you."

"But it's true. Guys notice thin girls more." She said with a sigh.

"No it's not, some girls are so thin we can't even see them, how do you suppose we notice something we can't even see?" he said, laughing. "Besides, I notice you, do you think I'd be talking to you if I didn't? And if you don't notice, I am a guy." the Inuzuka boy said, with a sly smile that showed his fangs.

"Oh…" She was unprepared. His lips caught hers in a light, short kiss.

"_Well, this is interesting… a guy never noticed me like that before today. Maybe I was just looking at the wrong guy. Besides, Akamaru is pretty cute, and he's kinda sweet too."_ She thought as she began to eat her sushi. Maybe eating a little more won't be so bad after all, especially eating with Kiba.

"Well, thanks for the sushi, it was great. I gotta go home." She said with a smile.

"Okay. But let me walk you there." Kiba said.

"Okay. Thanks." Ino replied.

"Oh no. It's raining again." Ino said as they got out of the sushi bar.

"Here, take this." Kiba said, taking of his fuzzy jacket and handing it to her. He wore a shirt under it anyways.

"But, what about you? Won't you and Akamaru get wet?" She asked.

"Don't worry about us. We can handle it." He said with another fanged smile.

"Thanks." She put it on, it was very comfortable, and it didn't even smell like dog, even if Kiba did have a habit of putting Akamaru in his jacket.

Soon enough, they reached Ino's house…

"Thanks again… Kiba-kun." Giving him back his jacket and hugging him tightly. "…for everything."

"You're welcome. See you tomorrow!" Kiba said happily, and petted his dog. _"Good dog!" _

"Yeah, sure!" She said, going into the house. She couldn't help but wonder if Kiba made his dog run into her on purpose.

_**Flashback End.**_

"Why the heck did it have to rain today?" she asked herself, still staring out the window. She remembered the warm fuzzy feeling of the jacket, and that tight hug that felt like a warm fire on a cold winter's day. It made her feel warmer despite the cool wind blowing in. The memory brought a small smile to her teary face.

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:Okay, there it is… I mostly copied the flashback part from my previous fic, but changed a few things, it was in Ino's point of view, since she was the one looking back on it…

:So… what do yah think? I won't know unless you review!

:THANKS FOR READING!!


	2. Chapter 2: Of Blonds And Of Ramen

:Okay… second chappie!!

:I still don't own Naruto… but I'm working on it!

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**Chapter 2: Of Blondes And Of Ramen**

Ino woke up to a beautiful golden morning, the sun's rays seen through her window's thin white curtains. She still felt sleepy, with sleep hard to find last night, but she decided to wake up and start the day early anyway. She took a bath, and dressed in her usual purple clothing, complete with bandage wrappings and her fishnets. She also tied her hair in her usual ponytail, leaving her bangs out and over one of her eyes.

"It's gonna be a long day." She muttered to herself as she made her way downstairs to see her parents. She hadn't seen them in a long time, and she really missed them.

"Ino! You didn't tell us you were home!" her father exclaimed, hugging her.

"I didn't want to disturb your sleep." She said faintly, taking a cup of green tea from the dining table.

"Well, I've gotta go, another mission from the Hokage. Take care of your mother." Inoichi smiled, and left for his briefing.

"Yes dad." Ino said, sipping her tea and going outside. She sat on the bench outside her family's flower shop, and began thinking. She thought of last night, and why she can't seem to forget about him, it has been four years already.

What did she see in him anyway? Other people just wrote him off as a more arrogant, buffed, tanned, fanged, less annoying, jacket wearing, dog-loving, less-ramen-eating version of Naruto. But she knew there was more to the dog-boy Inuzuka than that, after being together for three years, she knew he was a good and loyal friend, he was someone you can count on, yes, he was arrogant, but confident just the same.

She realized that she still loved him after all these years, but knew he had most likely found someone else. She left the village for four years, trying to escape, but she knew she would need to come back home eventually. She had to forget him, but she wasn't even sure if she wanted to. One thing was for sure, she would never tell anyone about that, no one had to know that she still had feelings for him.

She sipped her tea again, and smelled it sweet scent, she found herself staring at her own reflection in the tea's colored water. Then she saw another reflection, facing her.

"I thought I would find you here." A voice called from in front of her.

She looked up and found that it was her pink-haired friend, Sakura Haruno. Ino smiled and said: "How did you know I was back?"

"I work for Tsunade-sama, remember?" she said in a matter-of-factly voice.

"Right." She noticed that her friend still wore her usual red vest, and her pink skirt, but something seemed different. Then it struck her, the Uchiha clan symbol was on the back of her vest. Her last memories of Konoha before leaving reached her mind, _"She got married to Sasuke."_ She remembered.

"So, how's your life?" Ino said, smiling.

"Well, pretty ordinary really, working at the hospital, taking care of Fugaku, the usual." Sakura replied, taking a seat beside Ino. "Fukagu is really like a mini-version of Sasuke. The hair, the looks, almost everything except for the eyes, his are green like mine."

Ino remembered the Uchiha, raven-colored hair that was styled in a strange way, dark onyx eyes that seemed to be thinking deeply, his blank expression, she was exactly the type of boy young girls would fawn over. She should know, she was one of them.

"You mean he didn't inherit the Sharingan?" she asked curiously, speaking of the clan's Kekkei Genkai, the bloodline limit that was said to cause Sasuke's older brother to kill the clan, leaving him the only one alive.

"I don't know. Sasuke told me that it has to be 'activated' somehow." Her husband rarely talked of the Sharingan, or of his family, it was still a taboo subject to him. A thought then crossed her mind, and she chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Ino asked again.

"I remember how happy he was when he had a son." She said. "…and how relieved he was when his son didn't have pink hair." She giggled again. "I was pretty relieved myself." She imagined her own son, except with pink hair, and the possible look on her husbands face if it had happened.

Ino laughed. "It must be hard to explain that to a kid, wouldn't it?"

"You bet." She answered. "Lets get something to eat, I'm not due at the hospital until ten."

"Sure, I'm starving." She answered.

The two friends began walking in Konoha's crowded streets to Ichiraku's Ramen and talked as they made their way. They talked about how Sakura and Sasuke weren't planning on having another child since they still haven't figured out how to make sure that the siblings won't end up killing each other for the Mangekyo's secret, how Shikamaru had fulfilled his plans of a usual shinobi life, how Naruto still hasn't caught on to Hinata's hints of wanting to get married, Naruto and Sasuke's frequent sparring matches, and most other things that happened in Konoha for the past four years of Ino's absence.

They finally arrived at the place, and seeing there were just a few people, they took their seats and ordered some ramen.

"Hey Sakura, isn't that Sasuke over there?" Ino said, eyeing a guy in the seat in front of them.

"Yeah. Wanna join them? Looks like he's hanging out with Neji again." Sakura replied, seeing her husband with his friend, Neji Hyuga.

"Sure. I never thought Sasuke ate ramen." She replied, she really hadn't seen Sasuke in Ichiraku's before, even if Naruto was here almost everyday.

They joined Sasuke and Neji at their table…

"Hi Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said as she hugged her husband. "What are you doing here? I know you don't really like ramen."

"Well, we're waiting for Naruto actually, he wanted to train with us. I just saw Neji coming by and asked him to join us, there's nothing better to do anyway." Sasuke said, sighing. There hasn't been much excitement in Konohagakure lately from the looks of things.

"Yeah, it's been very boring ever since the Akatsuki went hiding." Neji said, with arms crossed in front of him, a bored expression on his face.

"That's true. Well anyway, Ino's back." Sakura said, showing them her blond companion.

"Hey Sasuke, Neji." Ino said to the two.

"Hi Ino, looks like your back." Sasuke said, smiling for a change. He seemed more cheerful since his goals were fulfilled.

"Yeah, it's great to be back." Ino said, looking at Sasuke, and finding that the ANBU uniform suit him better than that dress-like Orochimaru style outfit he used to wear.

"Look, Naruto's here." Neji said, looking at the other blond who just walked in.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Ino, you're back!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Yeah. Nice to see yah Naruto." She replied, she wasn't really close to Naruto, but they were friends.

"We gotta go. I'm going to knock the living daylight's out of Sasuke-teme here." Naruto said proudly.

"Don't be so sure. Remember, I'm in the lead." Sasuke said, smirking.

"Yah, yah, 51 to 50." Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "I'm gonna make it even."

"Winner gets to fight me." Neji said, smirking as well, confident in his skills.

"Who invited Neji here?" Naruto asked, looking at the long-haired shinobi.

"I did. We're both bored, so I decided to let him beat you up too." Sasuke said, in a very bored voice.

"Yeah whatever, use some manners when talking to the future Hokage okay?" he replied, he still held dreams of someday becoming the greatest shinobi the Village Hidden in the Leaves has ever known.

"That's not even for sure yet… what if, let's say… this ANBU… accidentally… assassinated you?" Sasuke said, smiling evilly.

"Yeah, and this jonin… sealed off your chakra points and helped the ANBU assassinate you?" Neji said, smiling evilly as well.

"Hey! Never mind, let's go." Naruto said, walking out the ramen bar.

"Bye Sakura, bye Ino." Neji and Sasuke said, following Naruto.

"Guys." Ino said with a chuckle. Sakura laughed too.

"Are they always like that?" Ino asked.

"Most of the time, yeah." Sakura answered.

Their ramen arrived and they began eating. It was great ramen, Naruto was right for loving the place.

"So… does anyone end up hurt or anything?" she asked again, though not really interested in the answer.

"When they get carried away, yeah. But nothing too serious though." Sakura answered.

"I'm guessing it's been a very boring four years, yah?" Ino said. "Nothing better to do than beat each other up."

"It has. It's been a very ordinary four years, except maybe when the Akatsuki tried going after Naruto last year." Sakura said. "We weren't able to track them down though, Kiba was on a mission and –." Sakura saw the expression on Ino's face when she mentioned Kiba's name.

"And what?" Ino asked casually, trying to sound like she didn't care.

"Well, he's the best tracker nin around, but he wasn't here, so, we weren't able to catch the Akatsuki." Sakura said.

"Tracker-nin eh?" Ino said, sighing. "I always knew he would be one."

"Ino? Is there anything wrong?" Sakura said.

"No…I'm fine. Really." Ino said. "How's he been these past four years?"

"I'm not really sure… but he's always training, and gets sent on plenty of missions to find people. Sometimes with Sasuke." Sakura explained. "He tells me he's still pretty much the same."

"Oh… anything else?" Ino asked curiously.

"Well… I think you should ask Shino. He should know." Sakura said.

_"Hey look, he's over there." _Ino thought as she looked at him in his usual leather jacket entering the ramen bar. "Let's finish eating, I don't like it here anymore." she knew she would see the Inuzuka soon, but she didn't want to so early.

"Oh, okay." Sakura said, eying the two. She began to finish up her ramen.

As the two finished up, they paid at the counter, and left.

"Hey Sakura! Who's this?" Kiba said, calling out to them. He found the blond girl really attractive, and she seemed oddly familiar.

"It's Ino. She just came back yesterday." Sakura answered.

Kiba's eyes widened in surprise. "I-Ino?" he stuttered.

"Hi Kiba." Ino said casually, then walked away with Sakura.

"Ino?" Sakura said as they reached the next corner. "What REALLY happened between you two? I mean, before I got in a coma, you two were fine, but then when I woke up, I never saw you two together..."

"Remember when I told you that I had to go to my training mission? That's not the only reason why I left for four years… I already told you this, but you were in a coma at the time, so I'm guessing that you don't remember." Ino said, her voice trailing off.

"Yeah. I don't." Sakura answered.

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:Next chappie… we find out what the problem is… though it's in the previous fic if you can't wait…

:THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!


	3. Chapter 3: Words Left Unspoken

:Sorry for the cliff-hanger… well, chapter 3… this ends the whole flashback era!!

:I don't own Naruto… yet! (evil grin)

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**Chapter 3: Words Left Unspoken**

"Well… here I go then…" Ino began telling Sakura of events four years ago…

_**Flashback: Four Years Ago, in the Yamanaka Flower Shop…**_

"I'm back babe!" Kiba had just returned from his mission in the land of the waterfall, and decided to pay Ino a visit.

"Oh Kiba!" Ino said with a faint smile, "I'm so glad you're back." she gave him a hug.

Kiba handed her a bouquet of lavenders, "I missed you too." He said with a smile.

"Lavenders?" Ino said, Kiba hadn't given her flowers before, maybe because he would mess up the meanings and stuff.

"They reminded me of you." He replied, as he stroked her long blonde hair.

"Kiba." She said softly.

"Wait, I have one more thing for you." And he handed her a stuffed toy dog, it was more like a brown-furred version of Akamaru.

"Now this reminds me of you." She said with a small smile, stroking the toy.

"Not so fast, take a look at his pocket." Kiba said with a cocky grin.

Ino did, and she pulled out a beautiful diamond ring, it shone like stars in a clear night.

"Now, don't you think I'm cuter than that thing?" He said with a smirk, and got down on his knees. He felt the butterflies in his stomach, and his heart racing, it was like running for your life... this was one of the bravest things he has done in his life.

"Will you marry me?" he only managed to say.

Ino burst into tears. "Oh Kiba."

"Now, I know we're still young, but we are shinobi… and, there's risks, you know?" Kiba saw the expression on her face, and began thinking quickly of what he might have said wrong, he didn't want Ino to think he was just marrying her because they might die soon, and just wanted to get it over with. "Baby, what I mean is, I know we have our misunderstandings, but, now is as good a time as any, I'm so sure… I want to spend my life with you."

Ino didn't answer, and Kiba was worried, he didn't prepare for rejection.

"Kiba, I-" Ino was stuttering. "I don't know what to say." Tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"Just say yes…" Kiba said softly, wiping the tears off Ino's face.

"But-" Ino said. Kiba moved them toward the wall, and began to kiss her before she could utter another word. Her tears wet both their cheeks, and Ino didn't stop him. Kiba kept kissing her for a good number of minutes, but she didn't kiss back. She just kept crying.

Inoichi, her father, suddenly came in the room, and saw the tears on his daughter's eyes.

"Get off my daughter… now!" He demanded.

Kiba stepped back hastily, "S-sorry sir." He said in a sad, low voice. "I'll be leaving now." He said as he made his way towards the door. He felt the world crash around him, and his heart broken to pieces. Was this the biggest mistake of his life? It certainly seemed so.

Ino fell on her knees, and clutched Kiba's hand, "Kiba…wait I-" she said, her sad blue eyes piercing Kiba's heart like a freshly-sharpened katana.

"I'm very sorry Ino. I... I understand." He said, as he let her go and closed the door behind him. He had some of his own tears in his eyes, and wiped them with his jacket. "Come on Akamaru, we're going home." He said to his dog, who was left outside, and they made their way home in silence.

"I told you that Inuzuka boy was trouble!" Inoichi said to his daughter.

"No dad! You're wrong!" Ino said with sobs. "He's the best guy I've ever met…" and her father hugged her as she cried on his chest. "…why can't I even say yes…" she cried. "he asked me… to…to… marry him!"

"Do you truly love him Ino?" her father said.

"More than anything." She said, wiping the tears off her own face. Every word was true.

"So why didn't you… I thought you would be happy…" he said with a look of mixed confusion and worry on his face.

"I…I just got news that Asuma-sensei got killed by another one of the Akatsuki…" she said, trying to hold back more tears. "I just… I just couldn't take it… I… I wasn't ready…" Asuma was after all like a second father to her, and losing him, Ino couldn't make such a big decision so soon. Kiba and her had been together for three years, and she knew she loved him, but something stopped her from saying the one world that meant the world to Kiba.

_**Flashback End.**_

"So that's it? You just couldn't say yes? That was the end?" Sakura said.

"No, I mean… after I visited you at the hospital that day, I saw him drunk. Shino was helping me get to him, but he got angry, the alcohol took over, and well, Shino told me to go home, so I did, while he took Kiba home..." Ino said, as she began telling the next event to her pink-haired friend.

_**Flashback: Four Years Ago, at Ino's House…**_

Ino was crying herself to sleep, not even noticing the unbelievably beautiful starry sky that shone through her window. She was too deep in thought… "Maybe we are just… too… much alike." she thought, as memories of the brown-haired dog-boy flooded her mind. "…both loud, gorgeous" she giggled. "…and arrogant." She sighed, it was hard to admit, but true nonetheless. A vision of two like magnets repelling each other forced its way into her already cluttered brain.

"I just wish I could talk to you… but you've been so distant lately, you're avoiding me." She muttered. "But, maybe we just weren't meant to be?" she cried. "Maybe that's why we argue all the time?" then she felt something furry touching her toes. It was the stuffed toy dog Kiba gave her. "No." she thought. "I can't let that happen…" and she hugged the dog, which surprisingly did not only look like Akamaru, but it's fur felt like him too. "Besides, I can't let old forehead beat me again." The fact that Sakura could to much more than her, even in a coma, bothered Ino the most. Ino fell asleep with plans to talk to Kiba in her mind…

_**The Next Day, At Ichiraku's Ramen Bar…**_

"Kiba… I-I wanted to tell you that—." Ino said nervously from behind the seat Kiba was in. She had finally mustered up the courage to say 'yes', she clutched the diamond ring in her hand. Will he still accept her after all that's happened?

To her horror, he saw another girl in his arms… long blonde hair, blue eyes… just like her, except thinner.

"Oh no…" Ino said, tears now flowing from her eyes. She ran quickly to the exit.

"Ino! Ino wait!" Kiba said, standing up and letting go of the girl. He ran hastily after her.

"I can't believe he would do this…" she told herself, running, not sure where, but anywhere away from Kiba… anywhere away from that girl. In truth she did believe he could to this, she could only imagine the pain he felt last night, and put herself to blame.

"INO!" Kiba said, grasping her hand. They had reached the road leading to the village's exit.

"Kiba… I…" Ino said, tears flowing freely from her blue eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"I should be the one who's sorry." Kiba said, pulling her into his arms.

"No, Kiba…" she said, and took his hands into hers, still crying.

"Ino… I-I-." Kiba said.

Ino let go of his hands, and kissed him, ever so softly on the cheek, right where his fang mark was. "Goodbye Kiba." Ino whispered in his ear. She leaped to the trees and disappeared.

"Ino…" Kiba said, and looked at his hand. There was the ring. "I'm so… so sorry…" He said, and his eyes filled with his own tears. He tried to convince himself that she had merely come to return the ring, and nothing could be done. It was over. This was th end. Yet, the look of horror on her face when she saw him with another girl told him otherwise, it told him that Ino was there to accept his proposal, but he ended up being stupid, and thus, hurt her. A pain worst than last night's was felt, and going with the other girl was his biggest regret, he hated himself for what he has done, and his dreams of the life he could've had with her were now just that... dreams.

Ino ran for home, anywhere but here… _"If I had just said yes… this never would have happened… you never would have looked at that girl." _she thought, as tears continued to fall down her cheeks. _"This is all my fault."_ She cried even more. If she had only said yes the night before, the wedding plans would have started to be laid out, and she would have had the life, and the man of her dreams, there would be no other girl... there would only be her, and Kiba. But her dreams turned into a nightmare.

It was a night both of them would always remember, how wrong everything was, how right it felt when they were in each other's arms, how they both thought the other didn't love the other. How messed up the whole thing was, how fear and doubts got the better of both of them, and how regret was the most prominent feeling of the night.

_**Flashback End.**_

"So… he saw another girl? Right on the day you were about to say 'yes'?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah." Ino said, trying to sound indifferent. "It's all my fault."

"No it isn't. Just because you couldn't say yes then and there, doesn't mean you don't love him. It doesn't mean he can go around hugging other girls, much less in public! He should have waited for you if he really meant it." Sakura told her reassuringly.

"But if I just said yes… maybe, we would both be happy. He can't wait forever, and I can't imagine how he felt that night." Ino said. "I wanted to marry him… but, I just… I felt guilty. I think he thought that I didn't love him back."

"Why the heck would you feel guilty?" Sakura said. "Your sensei would've wanted you to feel happy!"

"I don't know. I guess I was just stupid, REALLY stupid, so stupid that I left home for four years just to escape everything." She said, sighing. "That's all in the past now. I'm sure he's found someone else. It's about time I moved on."

"Well, if that's what you want." Sakura said. "But I think you should talk to him, to explain everything. Does he know why you didn't say yes?"

"I'm not sure, maybe. I told Shino to tell him." Ino said. "I don't think he'll be interested to know why anyways."

"It's your life Ino. I'm due at the hospital. Good luck though." Sakura said, leaving for the hospital.

Ino was alone again, walking in the streets of home. Wondering what to do next...

* * *

:Well that's about it… a marriage proposal gone wrong. Yeah, amazing how things that you never said can make more of a difference than the ones you actually did say, doesn't it?

:This chapter is the end of the major flashbacks. So the real story picks up from here.

:Thanks for reading! Please review!!


	4. Chapter 4: All Bets Are In!

:Here we go… Kiba's up, so prepare for some swearing…

:I don't own Naruto… and I've figured out there's nothing I can do about it.

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**Chapter 4: All Bets Are In!**

It was another long day for Kiba Inuzuka. Coming home from another boring tracking mission, killing a few rouge ninja, and going back home for another bowl of good old Ichiraku's ramen… she just had to show up there!

Ino… who was she anyway? Oh, wait, that's right. She was the girl he almost married, the girl he spent the three best years of his life with, the girl who was according to him, the most beautiful girl in Konoha, or maybe even the world, the girl… he loved… and lost.

How long has it been? Four years, four agonizingly long, boring, empty years. Four years spent with this other blonde and blue-eyed girl. A girl he knew would only and always be just a stand-in, a replacement for the woman he truly loved. She could never compare to Ino in Kiba's eyes. She was blonde, and had blue eyes, but not the same shade of blue, not the beautiful shining blue that reminded him of the sky, and the sea, and everything blue and beautiful the world had to offer. She didn't even smell as good as Ino. Being an Inuzuka, scent was a big thing. The blonde girl never smelled like the lavender or jasmine, or whatever flower was at the shop on a certain day.

Kiba hated himself for letting her go, he regretted that he took another girl, he was foolish. No, he was more than that, he had so much pride, and he was stupid. He didn't like the fact that now that Ino was back, he would never be able to look at her the same as before. She's moved on, and will never be his again. All he can do now is stay with the blonde girl stand-in for Ino.

Wait, what if he got her back? What if by some miraculous accident, they fell in love again? He missed the feeling of her wrapped snugly in his arms, how she fit perfectly, how they… belonged. He would certainly hurt this other girl, but, that didn't seem to matter anymore? Did it?

No. That could never happen. There is no such thing as a 'happily ever after'. Those things only happen in fairy tales. The life of a shiobi was never even close to one.

Take Sasuke and Sakura for example, yes, he did fulfill his goals to kill his brother, but her regretted it in the end, once he found out his brother was only looking our for him. Now that he was married, he could only have one child, for fears of the siblings kill each other ending up to kill each other, just like he and his brother, Itachi.

"_Stupid bloodlines…" _

Even Tenten and Neji had problems. Yes, they have had a solid relationship since, well, ever. But the Hyuga clan's traditions always stood as a barrier. They couldn't have children because their firstborn would be taken from them, to the clan's main house. Neji couldn't bare any of his children to have a life like he did, a life hating the main branch, and not being accepted, a life where you would always be 

'beneath' the main house no matter how good a shinobi you were. Most of all, he hated the 'curse seals' that are put on branch house members to keep the secrets of the Byakugan safe.

"_Damn tradition…"_

Naruto and Hinata. Well, a that's a different story. Naruto well, he was always to busy with his dreams of becoming Hokage, and still being overshadowed and thought 'less' by everyone. They still hate him for being the Kyuubi's container, and that, more than anything else, made his chances of becoming Hokage slimmer. Hokage isn't only some military position where you just protect Konoha, it was a most of all, a political position. You had to know how to run a village, and most of the citizens believe that that was where he lacked skill. Hinata, well she can't ever seem to make her father accept her. He always thought of her as 'weak'.

"_Fuck the stupid people, they don't even know them, or what they're capable of…" _

Who else? Uhm… Shikamaru and Temari, well, if you ask him, he would say 'troublesome', maybe because it was hard when two villages constantly put pressure on your relationship. Sure Konoha and Suna were good allies, but the two village's councils caused trouble.

"_Dumb village councils…" _

There were many other people to consider… like Kakashi and how lonely he must be all alone and all, Kurenai and how hard it is to raise a child by yourself, Shizune always being the subordinate, Iruka who didn't do to much except teach at the academy, Tusnade who the stupid elder council always bothered, Shino who everyone thought weird because of the kikai bugs in him, Gaara, Kankuro, Iruka, Hana, Tsume…

Kiba was beginning to think that everyone he knew never had their totally 'happy ending' everyone lived good lives, but they could never be totally happy. Heck, HE could never be totally happy. That's just how life is. Let's say, if he managed to get Ino back, there would always be something that would be a problem.

Is it even worth it?

"_Hmm… I don't have a bloodline problem, what's so bad about mind-specialist dog-nin trackers?... no tradition thing either… I don't car e what other people think… no stupid council that would badger me…" _He kept thinking of other people's problems, and how he couldn't have them… Until he finally realized he hit a brick wall. He had this one girl who he didn't love, and most of all, the girl he loves doesn't love him anymore and thinks that he's a big asshole.

"_Damn it Kiba!" _he thought to himself. This was a big problem.

"_Maybe I can never get her back… but I want to talk to her. Maybe just one last time." _Kiba thought, trying to convince himself. _"That's right! One last chance to explain everything." _

Now confident, he makes his way to the Yamanaka flower shop. _"No wait! Her dad would kill me." _

"_Hmm… I need a plan." _Kiba thought of people who could help him out, but then figured that no-one would help him. Everyone knew what happened. Plus, he didn't want his friends to think of him as a mushy wuss now did he? That would really hurt his reputation, and his pride. Not to mention the stand-in girl would find out. He needed someone to fall back on if things didn't work out didn't he?

"_Shit, I really am a bastard." _

So, now that he settled on the fact that he couldn't trust anyone to help him out, not even his best friend. Shino would've thought of the plan, as much as Kiba hated to admit it, Shino was the leader of the team, not him, no matter how many times he tried to convince himself otherwise.

"_I've got it!" _Kiba thought as an idea formed in his mind. An idea that he was totally convinced would work, with the right planning, and circumstances of course.

"_All I've got to do… is get assigned on a mission with her." _He smiled slyly as he made his way to Hokage tower… _"Wait a minute… how the heck would I do that without anyone noticing? Oh well, I'll risk it."_

In some weird demented way, he believed his plan would work. He was after all, Kiba Inuzuka.

What he didn't know was… that he would get help… from the most unexpected of places…

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"So everything's settled then?" Sakura whispered to her ten companions. They were in the Uchiha compound, all huddled and talking in whispers. They were planning something… for Kiba and Ino.

"Yah, yah. This should be fun!" Naruto said excitedly.

"I can't believed you dragged me into this." Sasuke said, crossing his arms, looking at his wife.

"Me either." Neji said to Tenten.

"What's done is done." Tenten answered.

"This is so troublesome." Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes.

"Everything's troublesome!" Temari said, hitting Shikamaru on the head.

"Enough everyone." Shino said, making the room eerie with silence. "We already began this, and it's best for the both of them. I know Kiba still loves her."

"I know Ino still loves him." Sakura said.

"H-how do we make this w-work?" Hinata said, stuttering, as always.

"We need to get them on a mission… together… alone." Shino said. "Whatever mission. Things have been pretty quiet lately, and I doubt they'll get in any serious danger."

"Perfect! The plan is so youthful and filled with the essence of love!" Lee exclaimed, tears flowing from his eyes.

"Will someone shut the green thing up! We're dead if they found out about this." Temari said, annoyed.

"Yeah, you know how troublesome Ino can be." Shikamaru added.

"I'll take care of it." Naruto said, hitting Lee on the back of the head with Temari's fan. Lee landed on the floor with a 'thud'.

"We didn't mean knock him out Naruto." Sakura scolded.

"Yeah, but it works." Naruto replied.

"Fine then." Sakura said, sighing. "How do we get them on a mission without them knowing we set them up?"

"We get the Godaime involved." Neji suggested.

"How do you suppose we do that?" Shikamaru asked.

"We use… Sakura." Sasuke added. "She's her favorite."

"Me?" Sakura eyed her husband.

"You." He replied.

"Then what?" Naruto asked.

"Hey, doesn't Tsunade-sama love to gamble?" Tenten mused.

"Yeah. She does." Sakura said with a sigh.

"So, we'll turn this into a gamble then." Shino proposed. "Whoever guesses how many days after the mission they get back together gets to win the money. The Godaime wouldn't want anyone else to know she's gambling, especially a gamble like this."

"I agree!" Naruto said, visions of a month's worth of ramen already in his mind.

"She'll never resist!" Sakura said excitedly.

"So… are we really betting?" Temari asked curiously.

"We need to, to make it really convincing." Shikamaru answered.

"Okay that's settled then. Now… no one can manipulate the results okay? Let's play this like honorable shinobi." Shino said. "Let's just let them do what they want."

"Yeah. But what if it doesn't work?" Sakura asked.

"That's fine too. At least they got to talk or something."

"I can't believe we are this bored, I never thought we would sink so low." Neji said.

"Me too." Sasuke agreed. "Scheming and invading the personal lives of others."

"What a drag." Shikamaru agreed.

"Oh, all of you get over it already!" Tenten, Sakura and Temari said at once.

* * *

:I was thinking the story was too sad for people to bear multiple chapters of character depression, so I decided to put in a bit of humor to this story…Who doesn't like very bored, clever, scheming shinobi anyway? Don't worry… there's still plenty of seriousness to go around.

:What you yah think? Please review!


	5. Chapter 5: The Plan Commences

:So… in the sheer boredom of summer… well, my summer… I am very, very, VERY bored, and so are most of Konoha's shinobi.

:I don't own Naruto… because I would rather own a show titled Sasuke or Kiba instead. Haha!

:On to chapter 5!! Woot-woot!

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Plan Commences **

"Let's get going then… remember, they can't know about this." Shino said.

"Yeah, let's start then." Naruto exclaimed. "I bet they'll be back together… in, uhm… five days from their mission." He said as he gave his money to Shino.

"I don't think they'll get back together. They're both too stubborn and arrogant, and remember, Kiba has this other girl trailing after her." Sasuke said with a 'hn'. "But you guys can prove me wrong."

"Way to be optimistic Sasuke." Naruto said sarcastically.

Everyone soon placed their bets, and they all decided Shino should keep the money, he was the one who thought of the plan, and he seemed to be the most trustworthy of them all. No one really knew what was in the mind of the Aburame, but since he was Kiba's best friend, and because he was already rich, it looked like he wouldn't spend the money for himself. Interestingly enough, he looked like a mysterious mob chief because of the hood and the sunglasses.

"Okay, so the latest bet is ten days after the mission. Sasuke wins the money if they're still not together by then. If they get together on the other days, everyone who placed their bets on that day share the money, in proportion to how much money they placed originally." Shino said plainly. "So that's it then. Sakura, it's your turn.''

"We better move fast." Sakura said, and left for the Hokage.

Lee had just woken up and Naruto was filling him in on the plan, making sure he kept his mouth shut, and told him it was like 'training'. Because they had to keep it a secret, and fulfill the mission of getting Kiba and Ino back together. Lee in his own strange and twisted way, understood.

Everyone parted, and acted as if nothing happened. Though secretly, more than half of them were thinking of ways to make sure that their bets would win, including mentioning Ino's name when talking to Kiba, bringing dogs when visiting Ino, spreading lavenders around and such. While some were already thinking of ways to spend the money, such as a month's worth of Ichiraku's ramen, a new dress, etc.

Remember, they are extremely bored, devious, clever ninjas. Shino did say, "Play this like honorable shinobi." What's more shinobi-like than manipulating the results without anyone else knowing?

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"So… Tsunade-sama, will you please help us?" Sakura said with an innocent smile after explaining everything to the Godaime.

"Sure, but I'm only doing this for Kiba and Ino. It has nothing to do with the money." Tsunade said, smiling as she placed her bet, three days.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama." Sakura said. _"Not for the money my ass! You couldn't resist gambling, let alone enough money for two month's worth of sake." _She thought, trying hard not to laugh.

"Oh, don't worry. I wont tell anyone." Tsunade said, waving Sakura in the direction of the door. She had so much paperwork to do today, as Shizune didn't forget to remind her.

"I'll send someone to call for them right now." Sakura said, and she closed the door behind her.

"Okay, you got it. Call for them, and Tsunade-sama will give them a mission." She told her two companions. Thinking it would be far less suspicious if the ones that called them were not close friends, but were people who were usually in the Hokage's office.

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"Hey Kiba!" Naruto called out from the street.

"Hi Naruto." Kiba said, much less enthusiastically.

"Wanna get some ramen?" The blonde asked.

"Nah, I just got some." He replied.

"Oh well, anyway… the Hokage is looking for you." Naruto said.

"Perfect! That's where I was headed." Kiba said, and continued on his way.

Naruto was confused as to why Kiba was going to the Hokage, but shrugged it off as a mere coincidence, and went on to get some ramen.

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"Now… where is Ino?" Sasuke said, jumping from the rooftops of Konoha looking for the girl. _"Sakura is my wife and all… I still can't believe I let her drag me into this." _He thought, as he spotted her on a bench near the gates of Konoha. He hated that place, his last sight of Konoha before he betrayed everyone to train with Orochimaru.

"Ino." He said, as he appeared in front of her in a puff of smoke.

"Sasuke! You don't have to use that jutsu so much. You're becoming more and more like Kakashi everyday." She said with a chuckle.

"I guess so. Well, he's not too bad really, just a little too perverted that's all." Sasuke said, as he spoke of his former sensei.

"Yeah. So what are you here for?" Ino asked. "I'm sure you're not here to think, I remember that you hated this place."

"I do. But the Hokage told me to look for you." Sasuke said coolly.

"Thanks." Ino said, as she made her way towards the Hokage.

"_This is never going to work." _Sasuke thought, and began heading to the ANBU headquarters with a sigh.

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"So… who am I tracking this time?" Kiba asked, yawning.

"We heard reports of an Akatsuki spy. You track him down, get the information, and kill him, if necessary." Tsunade explained, this was a real mission, after all. It just turned out that it was so perfect for their plans. It was simple, not too dangerous, but still serious and not suspicious.

"And, you will have a partner for this mission." She added sternly. "And no, you will have no choice in the matter. You're working with one of Konoha's top reconnaissance ninja."

Kiba's hopes were crushed. Now he had no chance of seeing Ino, he was assigned this one that was probably from the ANBU, someone who would think Kiba as inferior.

"She's here." Tusnade said, as she sensed the chakra signature behind the door.

"She?" Kiba asked. "A kunoichi?"

"Yes. I believe you know her. But she hasn't been in Konoha for quite some time." She added. "Come in."

The door opened to reveal a beautiful blonde lady, wearing a purple outfit, and had her one eye covered by her hair.

"Ino?" Kiba said, astonished. _"Oh my fucking god!" _he thought silently to himself. But he tried to look like he didn't care.

"Kiba?" Ino said as she glared at the Godaime. _"This must be a joke!" _

"So, track down the spy, get the information, kill anyone that is necessary." Tsunade said, handing them each a copy of the spy's profile. "No more questions. You leave at dawn."

She motioned them out of her office before any of them could refuse or ask more questions. She downed another glass of sake before smiling and returning to her work.

"_This looks simple enough…" _Ino thought as she read through the file. _"…except for… him." _Working with Kiba would surely cause distractions, and complicate everything, but knowing that she had to prove her four years of training with Anko did not go to waste, she decided she had to do it.

"_This is so weird…" _Kiba thought as he pretended to read the file. _"…everything's suddenly going according to plan. What a coincidence." _ Kiba tried not to smile, and politely told Ino to meet him at the gates at dawn the next morning.

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"Akamaru! You won't believe what happened today!" Kiba said, as he stormed his house and petted his dog. Akamaru gave him a yip and bark of joy.

"We're going on a mission!" Kiba said enthusiastically. Akamaru tilted his head showing that he did not understand what his master was so happy about, it's just another mission wasn't it?

"You'll see." Kiba said to his nin-dog.

Downstairs, Hana was just smiling as he heard his brother's excited voice. She hadn't seen Kiba so happy in years. Shino was kind enough to fill her in on their plans, and she placed her own bet.

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"It's going to be a hard and long day tomorrow." Ino told herself in the mirror while she was combing her hair.

"I didn't want to talk to him so soon." She told her reflection.

Deciding that she was doomed to her fate, she changed into her sleeping clothes and tried to sleep early, she had to be up before dawn the next day. Tomorrow was going to be a long, long day.

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Meanwhile, the betting pool began to grow larger and larger as more people knew of their plans and placed their bets. Who knew that most of Konoha's ninja were extremely bored and had nothing better to do than meddle in other people's lives? Wait, that's not it. It was for the money! The betting pool has grown to a rather considerable amount, even all their former sensei and others like Anko, Genma, and even Shizune couldn't resist.

The longest bet was still ten days, by Neji. They were surprised to learn that the Konoha ninja would be so optimistic of Kiba and Ino getting back together, well except Sasuke, who still doesn't believe that the plan would work.

* * *

:And on the mission they go… seems easy enough… but it won't be!

:THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!


	6. Chapter 6: One Last Night

:Aww, no reviews! Well I'll keep writing anyway… I haven't got anything better to do, and I love writing the story… It's boiling hot here right now, thanks to that global warming and stuff… but enough of that, so… Chapter 6 already… wow, this is pretty fast... I like fast updates... don't you?

:I don't own Naruto. But that doesn't mean I don't want to.

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**Chapter 6: One Last Night**

It was still dark in Konohagakure, and most of the villages shinobi were still asleep, except for a couple, who are both nervous about going on the mission ahead of them. Not the mission itself, but the person they had to be working with.

Ino Yamanaka was already packed and ready to go… she said goodbye to her mom with a sigh…

"_What have I gotten myself into…" _She thought as she made her way through the streets, accepting the daunting fact that the very person she wanted to get away from four years ago, was the same person she was going to go on this mission with. _"I can't back down now… what would Anko say?" _she convinced herself. She had left Konoha supposedly for a training mission, and was anxious to prove her worth. The gigantic gates of the village were soon looming over her, and her companion was still not there. "Typical Inuzuka." She muttered.

"This is it Akamaru…"Kiba told his dog as he reached Konoha's gates, and saw the blonde beauty standing there, waiting for him.

"You finally decided to show up." Ino said, crossing her arms.

"Sorry, but you are very early you know. The sun's not even up yet." Kiba retorted.

"Whatever. Let's just get on with it." She replied, annoyed.

"If you say so." Kiba led his dog to catch the trail. "Akamaru, you know what to do."

Akamaru barked, and began sniffing.

"_Well that went well…" _Kiba thought sarcastically to himself, as Akamaru quickened his pace, and they began to trail after him. _"…I can't believe I half expected her to jump into my arms… this is going to be harder than I thought." _

"_This is going to be a long day. I can't help but feel like there's something weird going on… getting assigned on a mission with dog-boy here is just too much of a coincidence." _ Ino thought as she followed Akamaru.

Indeed, it was going to be a very long day, for the both of them.

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"Everything's going according to plan…" Sakura mutterd as she watched the two go off. She was perched high on a tree near Konoha's gates.

"For now." Sasuke said, landing on the branch next to his wife. "It seems like everything's going too well. Something's bound to go wrong sooner or later."

"Stop being so pessimistic. Anyway, how did you know I was here?" she asked, amused.

"I woke up and you weren't there. I figured you would see them off." He said with a 'hn'. "You're my wife, don't think I know what you're up to."

"Yeah… Is Fugaku still asleep?" Sakura asked.

"When I left him, yeah." He answered.

"You honestly don't know anything about raising children." She said, and made her way back home.

"It's not like my family was much of one." He replied as he followed her home.

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It was now high noon, and the sun's rays cut through the trees, even in the shade of the forest, it was still hot. They haven't had a rest since they set off, and it was about time for lunch.

"Let's stop for a bit." Kiba said.

"We don't have to. I can take it." Ino said, he didn't think she was a pampered princess does he?

"It's time for lunch. I haven't even had breakfast yet." He said simply.

"Fine then." She replied. She was really hungry herself, since she didn't have breakfast too.

They sat down next to a tree, and Kiba opened his cup of instant ramen. Hanging out with Naruto has rubbed off on him. He also gave Akamaru some dog food, which he ate happily. Ino got out a bento box and began to eat. Clearly she really prepared for this mission.

They ate in complete silence, except for the sounds of a happily eating bear-sized dog of course. When they finished eating, they packed up, and followed the trail again.

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As the sun began to set, they have traveled a fair distance from Konoha, and in the direction Akamaru was taking them, they were on their way to Sunagakure. What could the Akatsuki possibly want there? They've already taken Gaara's Shukaku, what was left for them there?

Well, they would know once they get hands on that spy.

"Wait. Something's coming." Kiba said, halting their movement.

Suddenly, a rouge ninja leapt from the tree and appeared behind Ino, holding a kunai to her throat. "You're pretty. I'm taking you with me." He said. He was ragged, and had messy black hair and did not wear a headband, and they did not recognize the country he was from either.

"I don't think so." Ino smirked, she was prepared for this. Now if only Kiba wouldn't interfere… too late. A flurry of claws and fangs soon appeared, as Kiba ran towards the man holding Ino.

A number of kunai soon flew from the trees, towards Kiba. He got hit by one, and suddenly screamed in agony. Akamaru wasn't hit, but yelped for his master. The kunai was clearly poisoned. The man who threw the kunai then leapt of the tree, and landed in front of them. "Typical Konoha ninja. Always rescuing their girlfriends." He said to a hurt Kiba, twirling a kunai in his hand. He looked much like the other ninja, except taller, and his black hair was messier.

Ino, seeing her chance, escaped from the man holding her, and quickly performed hand seals and muttered a few words. "He's not my boyfriend." She said to the man. The man who was holding her suddenly charged towards the one holding the kunai.

"What do you think you're doing?!" The man with the kunai said to his companion.

"I-I can't help it!" He said, and slit the man's throat. He landed on the forest floor, with blood staining his clothes.

"Your not going anywhere." Ino said, as she released the former jutsu and appeared behind the man that held her. "And you're not taking me with you." She said, slitting the man's throat and killing him. _"Stupid men, they should stop blabbering and get the job done quickly." _She thought. She remembered a similar scenario when she was training with Anko.

"You really are stupid." She said, and pulled out the kunai on Kiba's chest, he screamed in pain."You just had to play hero!" she began taking off Kiba's jacket to heal his wounds. Kiba's eyes widened. "I don't need you to save me."

She tried to ignore that Kiba's body was even more well-toned and buffed than when she last saw it. This was for his own good after all. She put her hand on the wound, and began the healing jutsu. "That kunai was poisoned."

Kiba just sat there, speechless, trying to register everything that just happened. Ino just saved his life. In his plan this was supposed to go the other way around. He was supposed to save her, then she would forgive him and then everything would be fine. _"This is so fucked up!" _he thought, but seeing Ino heal him lifted his mood a bit. He began to think of a witty thing to say, maybe to annoy Ino. But after seeing her slit that rouge ninja's throat, he decided to just stay silent.

She finished bandaging him. "If you ever try that again. I'm leaving you to die." She said.

"I can heal my own wounds you know." He said, standing up, not bothering to wear his shirt and jacket.

"Then heal this one." She cut his arm lightly with a kunai, it wasn't deep, but it sure did sting.

"What the heck was that for?!" He said, holding his arm.

"For being such an asshole." She said, turning her back on him, smirking. _"Doesn't even think I can take care of myself. I was so right for not marrying him! What an ego!" _she tried to convince herself.

"_This is it… please don't kill me." _He thought, as his heart raced, and his hands trembled, the felt hot and nervous, but this had to be done, this was now or never.

Kiba suddenly stood up, and took Ino in his arms from behind. Her smirk faded, and she had half a mind to kick him, but she found that she just couldn't do it.

"Thanks. But you won't seriously leave me to die will you?" he softly said in her ear. He held her in his arms, and this might be his last chance to ever do this, he would enjoy every moment of it.

Ino didn't talk. She half wanted to kill the Inuzuka, but half wanted to kiss him as well. She was shocked, but loved the feeling of his arms around her, just like before. She could feel his breath on her skin.

"I'm sure I'll try to save you again… I won't let anything hurt you… I won't let them try…" Kiba meant every word, and didn't let go of her, he could smell the scent of lavenders, and it filled all his senses. He didn't want to let go. He wouldn't if he could help it. He felt like Ino was the only person who could fit in his arms so perfectly. It was clear that he still loved her, very much. He felt like they were the last people on earth, and everything around him seemed to disappear, all he could, and wanted to see was her.

Ino's eyes began to shed tears, and the tears landed on Kiba's arms. She didn't know what to do… They were done four years ago. He has someone else, not her. She should get angry and slap the man. But why was her heart racing, and her cheeks blushing, this was wrong… all wrong. But oh, it felt so right.

"_I despise that I adore you."_

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:Wow, I never thought Kiba had it in him. Ino kicks butt! And could the last line be any cheesier? I actually saw it written on a desk at school… well, even vandalism can inspire me! I give credit to the vandal who wrote that on one of the desks.

:Until next chapter! Thanks for reading! Please review.


	7. Chapter 7: A Night of Surprises

:Wow… writer's block is kicking in… anyways… Chapter 7…

:I still don't own Naruto… it isn't so bad really.

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**Chapter 7: A Night of Surprises**

It was a warm night in Konohagakure, and Sasuke found himself awake, and Sakura was not there. He could sense chakra, and the shadows in the slit under the door told him that people were outside. Fearing the worst, at this hour of night, he stood up and took his chokuto, slowly walked up to the door, and opened it…

"Sasuke! You're finally awake!" Sakura said from behind the door. "I was just about to wake you up. What's the sword for?"

"Nothing." He said, putting the chokuto back in its place.

"Well, everyone's here… we're discussing about the plan!" she exclaimed.

"I already told you, it won't work." He said, with a 'hn'.

"Whatever… just come on!" she said, frustrated, and dragged Sasuke by the arm into the seating area.

"Hey look! Sasuke-teme's here!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing and laughing at Sasuke. "Being dragged like a dog!"

Just as everyone got settled, Shino spoke. "Someone's listening…" he said faintly from the corner of the room. Then they then heard something from the other side of the door.

"I'll take care of it." Sasuke said. "Fugaku! Come here!"

The door then slowly slid open, and revealed an embarrassed four-year old boy.

"You know better than to listen to our business in the middle of the night." Sasuke said.

"B-but-?" He said, stammering.

"Shut up Fugaku! Go to bed!" he said, activating his Sharingan and giving his son the 'death glare'.

Fugaku ran to his room, holding back tears.

"Man, Sasuke. You didn't have to scare the kid." Naruto said. "He was just curious."

"You don't know how much I wanted to that to my father…" he said with a chuckle. And it's not his curiousness I'm worried about." He said with a sigh. "I started to teach him how to conceal his chakra a week ago… he didn't master it yet, and he still hasn't learned how to keep quiet."

"Wow. Way to put on the pressure." Naruto said. "Concealing chakra at four? He isn't even old enough to go to the academy!"

"I learned the Great Fireball Technique at eight." He said. "And my brother learned it much earlier. He killed the clan at thirteen. An ENTIRE clan of Uchiha! At THIRTEEN! The best I could do at thirteen was the Chidori!"

"Wow. Even now that he's dead, the sibling rivalry isn't over." Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "Poor kid. The pressures of being an Uchiha."

"You don't know half of it dobe." Sasuke said with a 'hn'.

Naruto started a retort, but was interrupted by Tenten.

"Now, let's get serious people. Seeing these two fight for the hundredth time isn't what we're here for… Sasuke, please explain why you think the plan won't work?" Tenten asked him.

"One… they both got heartbroken when they ended…" He said, plainly.

"Yeah, but they'll get over it." Sakura said. "I did."

"Hn." Was all Sasuke replied.

"Anything else?" Temari asked.

"They haven't seen each other in four years…" Neji said.

"So? You could wait forever if you really meant it." Tenten answered.

"There is one more thing…" Shikamaru said.

"W-what?" Hinata asked in a low voice.

"Kiba has this other girl." He repied.

"Oh." All the kunoichi's lowered their heads in disappointment.

"Well, then we'll just have to get rid of her." Temari said.

"You mean kill her?" Naruto said. "Can we do that?"

"Of course not, we're not that low." Tenten said. "We need a plan."

"It's simple…" Shino said, from the corner of the room. "…we get the girl to like someone else."

"That will be hard, and too complicated. We don't have enough time to look for someone willing to do this." Temari said.

"I have a better idea." Sakura said with a grin. "The reports the Goidaime received from Ino and Kiba show that the spy is making his way to Suna."

"We're getting Suna involved in this?" Temari asked curiously.

"Yes. It's time to cash in on a few favors. Besides, we've got you here." Sakura answered.

They began writing a letter to the Kazekage, Temari's brother, Gaara.

Once they finished, they re-read it through, and then took a jounin messenger bird to take it to Suna.

"Perfect!" Temari said. "I would deliver it personally to Gaara if only I wasn't so busy with the kids."

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"Shit. Shit. SHIT!" Kiba said angrily as he punched his fist into a tree. "Why am I so stupid!" The tree splintered and fell with a loud 'thud' on the forest floor. "I should have never let her go." He said with a sigh, clenching his fists, then dropping them to his sides. "Kill me Akamaru."

The dog just stared at his master in amazement, wonder, and confusion.

He remembered Ino's teary face a few moments ago, _"Kiba… please… let…go." _Was still echoing in his mind. Why in the word did he have to pull such a pathetic and sappy move like that. The stupid 'hug from behind' trick never works! Well, it worked with Sakura and Sasuke, but this was a whole different matter.

"Never mind. It's dark, lets set up camp, she'll come back." He said, starting a fire, muttering things to himself. "If she's not here after three hours, I'll go look for her."

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"Damn Inuzuka!" Ino shouted, trying to wipe the tears on her face. "Why do I still love him?" she muttered to herself, holding a chakra infused kunai, and throwing it to a rock that was by the river's edge, breaking it in two. "Why the heck to I have to go through this!?" She said, raising her voice and screaming at the clouds. "Strike me down and kill me!"

"I wouldn't say that if I were you." A voice behind her said.

"Wh-what?" she said, stammering. "Who are you?"

"That's not important… anyway, what's a pretty girl like you doing so far from home?" the man said, going towards her.

"I'm really lost…" Ino said, purring and taking off her ponytail, swishing her hair around. "…please keep me company…" she continued seductively.

The man's eyes widened. "Well, okay then." He said, smirking and holding her hair, and moved closer and closer until…

Ino disappeared with a 'poof' in a cloud of smoke.

"Stupid pervert." Ino said, as she jumped down from a tree behind him, a kunai clutched on her hand. "You don't deserve to live."

"You can't kill me little girly." He said, drawing a katana. "I was sent to kill you by the spy you're tracking." Landing a hit on the Ino that leaped down from the tree. To his surprise, it disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"You really are an idiot. Falling for the same trick twice." Ino said rising from the river's water behind him. "Bye." She said, and slit his throat. "I was almost going to let you live, to ask you who sent you to kill me, but you were stupid enough to do it yourself." She then took her kunai from the man's throat and started walking back into the forest. "The spy we're tracking must be really dirt-poor, or really stupid to hire the likes of him."

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"You're back." Kiba said, seeing Ino enter the clearing.

"Yeah. What's for dinner?" she asked casually.

"Hmm… Instant ramen." He said. "…and a bento box of sushi." He answered, smiling.

"Nice." She said, as she sat down by the fire.

"I'm sorry for everything Ino." He said in a low voice.

"Don't worry. I forgave you a long time ago." She answered, taking a bowl of ramen.

"Forgive and forget then?" he said, standing up and holding up his hand. "Don't worry, I won't come any closer… I don't want my throat getting slit. I saw what you did to that man at the river."

"You did?" she said, staring at Kiba and his outstretched hand.

"Yeah. Shadow clones. Really smart." He said. _"One of those clones looked real cute too…" _he thought to himself.

"Thanks. I didn't waste four years of my life for nothing." Ino said.

"You'll see I didn't waste my time too, when I get a chance to prove it." He replied.

"Well then, we'll just have to finish this mission." Ino said, shaking Kiba's hand.

"I guess. So no more grudges, arguments and stuff until we finish this. We can start ignoring each other when we finish the mission and get back to Konoha." He replied. "Well, goodnight then." And he made his way to his tent.

"Thanks… Goodnight, Kiba." She said, taking her last bit of ramen, and making her way to her tent. _"At least we can be friends… and maybe, that's good enough for me." _

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In Suna…

"Gaara! There's a letter from Temari and the guys from Konoha!" Kankuro exclaimed, entering the Kazekage's office.

"Well then, let me see." He said, taking the paper from his brother's hand. His eyes widened in shock, and he didn't know whether to laugh or to do anything else. This was one of the strangest requests anyone has ever asked of him. It certainly was a surprise, especially when you haven't slept in days.

* * *

:Well, there it is! Sorry it took me along time to update! I wonder what they wrote on that letter?

:This is actually more light-hearted and funny than my other story… but hey, I wanna have some fun too!

:Danke! Arigato! Salamat! Thanks! And Please Review!


	8. Chapter 8: Many Happenings

:Here we are again… time for chapter 8… sorry I took a part of forever to update!

:I don't own Naruto.

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**Chapter 8: Many Happenings**

"What the-" Ino said as she woke up to a clear blue cloudless sky. "What happened to the tree?"

"What tree?" Kiba said as he packed up camp.

"That one. Behind you." She said, pointing to a splintered and fallen tree behind the Inuzuka. She didn't notice it until this morning though, it was pretty dark last night.

"Oh… well, I got carried away training I guess." He said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Yeah, sure." Ino said, smiling. "Well, let's get moving then, we don't want that spy getting intercepted."

"Right. By the look, and smell of things… he's not really far from here, and he stopped. He's either resting, or-"

"Setting a trap." She finished the sentence.

"Exactly, so we have to be careful. Oh, and we're just half a day away from Suna right now." He said happily.

"I've always wanted to see that place." Ino said thoughtfully.

"I know… maybe we should stop by there after the mission?" Kiba said with a smile.

"Good Idea." She said as they set out again.

Soon enough, after half a day, they reached a desolate desert land, and still haven't caught up to the spy they were sent to look for.

"It sure is sandy… and windy." Kiba said, looking out at the seemingly endless desert.

"That's why it's called 'the village hidden in the sand' in 'wind country'." Ino said sarcastically.

"Fine, be that way." He replied, annoyed.

"Sorry. Well, where's the stupid guy anyway?" she asked.

"Not so far from here." He said, sniffing the air.

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"Yosh! Dattebayo!" the blonde-haired shinobi said with his usual hyperactive excitement. "Thanks for all the help Iruka-sensei!"

"Perfect! But, class is about to start, so you have to get going." His former teacher said.

"See yah later Iruka-sensei!" he answered as he began walking out of the classroom.

"Bye Naruto." He replied as he got up and fixed the papers on his desk.

Naruto put his arms behind his head and smiled. _"Rokudaime… Naruto Uzumaki…" _

Just then, a little girl with blonde hair, who Naruto recognized as Shikamaru and Temari's daughter came running down the hall with a blue-haired girl, apparently, the two were racing to the classroom.

"_They're too early to be late… what's the rush?" _the orange-jumpsuit wearing ninja pondered in his head.

"I'm going to sit next to Fugaku-kun!" the blue haired girl said, smiling as she was just a few feet ahead.

"I don't think so." The blonde said, as she pulled out the giant fan tied to her back. Suddenly, she waved it and a gush of wind ran through the hall, blowing the blue-haired girl to the floor, where she landed five meters away with a 'thud'. The blonde girl stuck out her tongue and said: "Let's see you sit next to him from there!" she then proudly entered the room, and sat down next to a very stoic raven-haired boy with green eyes, who apparently, didn't even notice she was there, because he was too busy thinking, typical Uchiha.

"_Woah. They're worse than Sakura and Ino ever were. I better not mess with Temari's kid, she's just as scary as her mom." _Naruto thought, scratching his head. Then an interesting thought came to mind… _"Why do Uchiha's have to get all the attention!" _

Then he began to walk to Ichiraku's… nothing like five-hundred bowls of ramen in ten minutes to clear your head.

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"I never expected you joining in this kind of stuff Kakashi." The crimson-eyed genjutsu specialist said.

"I didn't expect you to join in to it either." The masked jonin said impassively from behind another copy of the infamous Icha-icha series. "How much did you bet exactly?"

"I can't tell you… they said it was part of the rules, you can't tell the details of your bet to anyone. And, Kiba was my student, and Ino is like a daughter to me… especially since Asuma… well, you know." She said, sighing. "So… how'd you find out about it?"

"Anko told me… Sasuke confirmed it." He said, half his face behind the book.

"Anko?" she said, recalling the jonin who has trained Ino for four years. "She's in this too?" clearly, she didn't expect her to be in this mess too.

"Yeah… along with practically everyone in the village who knows Ino and Kiba." He said sarcastically.

"You know, I can't help but notice you two being together more often." She said, laughing a little as she noticed Kakashi actually stop reading and look up from the book.

"What to you mean?" he glared with his one eye. He was actually blushing, a little, but of course it was all hidden under that mask of his.

"Oh… noting." She said sarcastically.

"Who told you?" he asked.

"Hmm… I don't think I should tell you." She said.

Kakashi closed the book and kept it. "I have to go… do something." He said, as he closed the door and walked out of the room. He could only think of one person smart enough, and knew him well enough to figure it out… _"Sasuke… you're going to die."_

What he didn't know, was that Sasuke had nothing to do with anything. Kurenai was just simply born with a good sense of intuition. She was laughing after Kakashi disappeared, and was soon a little worried for the raven-haired Uchiha clan leader.

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"Great work Fugaku." Iruka said, looking at all ten kunai that hit all their targets perfectly. _"…just like your father, and your uncle, and well… your grandfather from what I'm told..." _

"Thank you. Iruka-sensei." The boy answered. All the girls in the class were soon fawning over him with all their fangirlish fury. cries of 'you're so cool Fugaku-kun', 'wow, Fugaku-kun is amazing', were heard and just girls with heart-shaped eyes and drool.

Suddenly though, a gust of wind appeared from nowhere and all of them were swept away, landing a few feet behind the boy.

"Thank you Sora-chan. It's only the first day, and they're already annoying." He said to the blonde haired girl holding the giant fan.

"No problem Fugaku-kun!" the girl said, smiling.

Iruka slapped his hand on his forehead and thought. _"I can't believe this is the daughter of the boy that always slept in class, she really does take after her mother. But the other student's parents are complaining already, I guess I've got to talk to him about this... and I'm starting to think that the Sharingan isn't the Uchiha's only Kekkei Genkai, maybe they inherit a potential for fangirls too…"_

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"We're close." Kiba said, sniffing the air. "But I can't tell his exact location… it's too windy."

"Well… at least we know where to go." Ino said, covering her face with a scarf.

They began moving again, and they soon noticed that the desert of Suna was very, very large, sandy, desolate, and windy. The sun was setting, and they still haven't found the man spy they were looking for. It was their first time here, by the way.

"Face it. We're lost." Ino said.

"No we're not… we're just…" he said, thinking of the right words. Akamaru was just looking at him with a weird and confused doggy expression.

"LOST." She so annoyingly pointed out.

"We're not lost. Suna is right over there… maybe we should go there now." The dog-boy said.

"I guess that's much better than being lost in the desert!" she said as she made her way to the vague image of clay or sand buildings in the distance.

"Yeah… and since they know the place, maybe they could help us out with our mission too…" he said, following her.

Three hot, dry, and painstaking hours later, they soon reached the walls of the hidden village, they marveled at its beauty, and how different it was from Konoha.

"Konoha shinobi, what are your names and what is your business here?" The guard said.

"I'm Kiba Inuzuka" he said. "This is Ino Yamanaka." He pointed to Ino. "and this, is my dog-nin Akamaru." He said, petting his wolf-sized dog on the head. "We need a place to rest, and we're on a mission from Konoha."

"In that case… Kazekage-sama has been expecting you." The guard said, and he called to the other guard, who apparently, would be taking them to the Kazekage's office.

"Wow. I didn't expect a welcoming committee." Ino said, smiling.

"Me either. I wonder how Gaara found out about our mission?" he said thoughtfully.

"I think I know why." She said. _"…I knew things were way too weird…" _she thought. _"was the past four years really that boring that you guys would have the time to think of something as crazy as this?" _

She suspected something going on, and she knew her friends at Konoha were behind it, she didn't expect Suna to be in on it too though. Things were getting too confusing, and she was beginning to think that this mission wasn't even real.

* * *

:Well… that's it for now… sorry it took so long! Yes, Fugaku and Sora know each other from before the academy since their parents know each other, this was their first day at the academy too. Sora, means 'sky' I think, well, I'm not too good with names, that's why I named Sasuke's kid after Sasuke's dad.

:Sorry for all the randomness… they're all part of the story though. What do you guys think of Kakashi-Anko as a pairing? Tell me if I should drop it...

:Thanks for reading! Please review!


	9. Chapter 9: The Wind

:Okay… I'm making up for lost time here… so Chapter 9…

:I still don't own Naruto.

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**Chapter 9: The Wind**

Sasuke was walking around Konoha, making his way to pick up his son from the Academy, it was his first day, after all. He was thinking a lot more these days, about the truth of the clan's massacre, his brother actually being a hero, and his attitude towards his own son. _"…maybe I have been rushing him too much… I guess I should lighten up a bit." _

He soon saw his son sitting under a tree in front of the academy, reading a scroll. He was just about to call out to him when…

"Look! Fugaku-kun is over there!" a blue-haired girl came giggling, and with a hoard of other little five-year-olds in tow.

"Not again." The boy sighed, rolled up the scroll, placed it in his bag, and disappeared up the tree.

Sasuke was almost amused by the déjà vu of this moment, and decided to watch and see how his own son would handle the predicament.

The girls were soon at a loss, and were then looking everywhere, they couldn't find Fuagaku, but they did find someone who looked so much like him… Sasuke Uchiha himself.

"Look girls! He looks exactly like an older Fugaku-kun! Except for the eyes!" they soon were giggling and looking at Sasuke in amazement. "Mister, are you Fugaku-kun's brother?"

Sasuke sweatdropped. How to answer a hoard of your five-year-old son's fangirls? Back in the day, he just ignored them really.

"Uh… well…" he said, scratching his head. Earning a few cries of 'oh my god! His hair is better than Fugaku-kun's!'. "Fugaku isn't my brother." He said. _"…because my brother is dead." _

"He's your cousin then? You have the same red and white thingy on your back!" an inquisitive little red-head asked.

"The 'red and white thingy' is the Uchiha clan crest, and he's not my brother, or my cousin." Fugaku has jumped down the tree, clearly, he's been laughing. All the girls turned in his direction. "…he's my dad."

"Wow! No wonder he's so cool!" they said, still giggling at the two.

"Uhh… I think we should get going. Your mom is waiting." Sasuke said, Fugaku nodded.

They were making their way through the fangirls, but having a hard time nonetheless.

"A persistent bunch, aren't they?" Sasuke said, finally smiling.

"They're really, really annoying too." The boy replied.

Sasuke sighed and said: "Trust me, they get worse, much, much worse… though some of them aren't that bad when you get to know them."

"I don't think I'd want to get to know them." He said, trying to get the arms of a black-haired girl off him.

"Your mom was one of these." Sasuke said, almost laughing.

"M-mom… mom was… was like this?" he said, dumbfounded. "Mom was-?"

"I'll tell you when you're old enough." Sasuke said, smiling.

"Oi! Sasuke!" a man with a high ponytail called out. "Why does this look all too familiar?"

"I know." He said. "It really is Shikamaru."

"Let me help you out Fugaku-kun!" the blonde five-year-old girl beside Shikamaru said, pulling out a large fan.

"Sora's got her fan out again! Run before she blows us to Suna!" the little girls said, and scattered.

"Wow. I didn't even need to do it this time." She said, placing the fan back in its place.

"Thanks for getting rid of them again, Sora-chan!" Fugaku said from beside his father.

"Don't mention it." She smiled.

"What a drag, so what Iruka-senpai said was true. I have to talk to your mother about this. So troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. "Well, I guess I gotta go."

"Your right dad. Not all girls are bad." Fugaku said, smiling at his father. He hasn't seen him like this before. He must be in a good mood.

"Told you so." He said, messing up his son's dark hair. "So… apart from the screaming girls, how was your first day?" he said, as they started their way home.

"Okay I guess, shuriken practice was pretty easy. But, I'm pretty excited for tomorrow. Iruka-sensei said that the future Hokage will be teaching us how to do the bunshin jutsu!" the boy said.

"Future Hokage?" he said, "N-naruto? A sensei?"

"Uncle Naruto is the future Hokage?" the boy said. "He doesn't look like a future Hokage to me."

"Well, a lot of people think that too." He said. "But I don't see anyone else wanting to fill the job."

"Why don't you want to become Hokage dad? Why is our crest on the Police Force building? What's this 'kekkei genkai' they're talking about? Isn't our clan the strongest, so why aren't any of the past Hokages 

Uchiha? Where is the rest of the clan anyway?" the boy saw that his father's good mood might be the right time to ask him all the questions that were bothering him.

"_This isn't going to be good." _Sasuke thought. How would he explain all those years to a five-year-old? Easy. He won't. Not yet anyway. "I'll tell you when your older. You wouldn't understand."

"Older? Why does everyone tell me they can't answer till I'm older? When exactly is older?" the boy said, clearly annoyed.

"Because you wouldn't understand." Sasuke said, crossing his arms. "Fine then, if you want to know when 'older' is… it's thirteen years old, but only after you graduate the academy and get a genin team." He said, and he would wait eight more years before that fateful day, when all the truth had to be told.

"But I wanna know now!" the boy said.

"You don't get everything you want. Deal with it." His father said. _"I had to learn that the hard way." _

"Is there anything that I'm allowed to know?" he said.

Sasuke knew his son wouldn't stop asking questions unless he answered a few. "Okay, do you want to know why the Uchiha crest is a fan?"

"Yeah. Mom said she won't tell me because you were supposed to." The boy said, smiling.

"It's a symbol of the fan that makes the flame burn stronger. The Uchiha clan are fire-jutsu users." Sasuke said. "Back when I was a kid, we had to learn a special technique to show that we were true Uchiha. My father, taught it to me."

"Can I learn it now?" the boy said. "Please?"

"I think you're old enough. Sure, we'll start training tomorrow, if I don't get any mission." He said. _"…at least training him would be easier than telling him everything."_

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"Kazekage-sama will see you now." The guard said, as he opened the door to Gaara's office.

"Thanks." Kiba said, they entered the room, Akamaru in tow.

"What brings you to Suna?" a stoic, bored-looking Kazekage said from behind a mountain of paperwork.

"…_this is why Naruto might not be the best Hokage… the paperwork would kill him…" _Ino thought in her mind, laughing on the inside.

"We're on a mission from Konoha, tracking down a spy that we believe to be working for the Akatsuki." Kiba said.

"I see." Gaara said. "Do you have any more information on him?"

"Not really, we were put on this mission in a rush." He continued. "It's all really strange."

Gaara gave a nod of understanding, remembering the letter his sister had sent him. What did it say again? Oh yeah…

"Well, as for your mission, you can all stay in Suna as long as you want, we have accommodations." Gaara said, though in his mind he was really thinking: _"…what have you dragged me into Temari? I'm the Kazekage now and I have to play 'matchmaker' for these two? I understand Kankuro getting into this mess, but dragging me into it? If you weren't my sister…" _then a little thought came to mind. _"…but you are my sister." _Gaara sighed to himself. _"…there's nothing I can do about that… only if I had the Shukaku… nope, no. I'd rather take this than have a demon inside me." _

"Thank you. Kazekage-sama." Ino said with a curt nod.

"No problem, our villages are allies after all." Gaara said. "Don't worry about your mission. I'll send someone to help you." He continued, remembering the contents of the envelope. "Wait here, and then tell him all he needs to know, we'll have that spy caught in a day."

"Thanks." Ino said, smiling. _"…now that's taken care of, I can have a good look around this place… I've always wanted to come here… especially when… no, nevermind." _

The door then opened, revealing a smiling man in puppeteer gear.

"Man! How long has it been!" he said, looking at Kiba.

"Seven years I think." He replied, shaking his hand. "Again, thanks for saving my life back then. I'll repay you when I get the chance."

"Don't mention it." He said. "Wait, I'm forgetting my manners." He turned to look at a puzzled Ino. "I'm Kankuro, Gaara's brother." He smiled. "I also saved Kiba's ass back then."

"Nice to meet you… again." Ino said. "We've met before."

"So we have." Kankuro said. He turned back to talk to Kiba, and whispered something in his ear. "How'd you get a catch like that?"

Kiba smiled nervously, looking at Ino as if trying to figure out if she heard what they were saying. _"Can Ino read minds now? Her family specializes in mind-jutsu… we better get outta here."_

"Ino… uhm, I need to go talk to Kankuro about something. See yah later!" he said with a smile.

"Come on Akamaru!" he said, walking out the door, dragging a flustered Kankuro, and Akamaru trailing behind.

"Uh… okay." Ino said, somewhat puzzled. _"…eh, what was that about?" _

"Well, here he is." Gaara said, with a tone that clearly said 'the-kazekage-has-to-have-something-better-to-do-than-paperwork', as a man in desert clothing appeared in the room

"Tell him all he needs to know, and your mission will soon be over." He said.

Ino then began telling the man what she knew of the mission, all the while thinking that something must be up, and suspecting that everyone in Konoha, and even Suna were behind it. This mission was going to be done by someone else, and it was very clear the Godaime had just sent them on a mission to set them up. She wasn't a hundred percent sure, but she knew she would have a long talk to Kiba about this later.

* * *

:Okay, now we know most of what's in the letter, and that being a Kage isn't as cool as Naruto imagines, and that Sasuke and Fugaku have so much more in common than looks… among other things... not a bad chapter.

:I find imagining Sasuke as a dad pretty funny, especially if his son is so curious.

:Thanks for reading! More Kiba-Ino for the next chapter… please review!


	10. Chapter 10: Conversations

:Okay… so, inspiration totally hit me. I don't know why it took so long… anyways, here's Chapter 10.

:I still don't own Naruto, but it rocks all the same.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Conversations**

"So tell me… how'd you get a catch like blondie over there?" Kankuro said, as he and Kiba had found a room where they could talk without anyone overhearing.

"Uhm… well…" Kiba said. Should he tell him? Wouldn't he sound like a total asshole or something?

"Seriously, I didn't think you had it in you." He said again, apparently proud of his friend.

"We aren't… together… exactly." Kiba said, sighing.

"Oh. I get it. So you're just getting there and-" Kankuro said.

"Actually… we already 'got there' but-"

"Ahhh… you lost her then." He said, nodding and finally understanding what the letter from Konoha was all about. It's time to play his part in the story. "You should've never let her go… Girls like that don't come by that often."

"I know." Kiba said. "Don't remind me."

"I bet she can kick some serious ass now right?" Kankuro asked, not really wanting an answer.

"Yeah."

"Well then… you know what you have to do right?" he said.

"Yup. Move on… find someone else…" He smiled a little, thinking he did the right thing.

"Don't act stupid dude." Kankuro said. "What you want to do… is get her back."

"She… she doesn't… we couldn't-" Kiba said, trying hard to explain. "She deserves more than me."

"To hell with 'deserving'! That doesn't mean a thing." The puppeteer said, looking Kiba in the eye.

"Oh yes it does." Kiba said, and he began telling him the story from seven years ago, which is when they met, and that night four years ago, when everything went wrong, up to today… he reduced it a bit, but it still took about twenty-something minutes.

"I see." Kankuro said, nodding again. "That was really stupid, what you did. But then again, who can blame you?"

"Now you know… I don't deserve her." Kiba said.

"Were you deaf or something!?" He said, getting annoyed. "Deserving has nothing to do with it!"

"But… didn't you hear what I just told you?"

"Look at you're friends… do they look like they deserve anything?" he said. "Wait, don't answer that question."

"What are you getting at!? If this is about your sister and Shikamaru again-!" Kiba said, getting annoyed with everything. He was never the type to talk about 'feelings' and that stuff. It was so sappy, so boring, so… ugh…

"No… this isn't about the lazy-ass. I can't do anything about that even if I tried, they've got like two kids now. Even I can't deny that." Kankuro said with a sigh. "Let's try this again…"

"Lets see… uhm… Naruto." He said slowly. "He's a bumbling idiot that was the dead last of his class. But, he still got that white-eyed Hyuga girl to fall for him."

"What does that have to do with anything? Hinata's had her eyes on Naruto since the Academy!" Kiba said.

"Listen. What if we try someone else…hmmm…" Kankuro said, with his hand on his chin, thinking. "Sasuke… he's a bastard who betrayed the village and put loads of people in danger. But that pink-haired girl is now his wife."

"SO?" Kiba said.

"Heh." Kankuro said. "Still can't understand?"

"I get it!" Kiba said, standing up and thrusting his fist in the air. "It doesn't matter what I've done… it's how I make up for it that matters!" Kiba said.

"Eh… I was actually going to say that you just forget about 'deserving' anything, and just try to get the girl to fall for you and act all sappy and say sorry and stuff… but you're idea sounds way better." Kankuro said, shrugging. "Now, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to… to… uhm…" Kiba said. "I don't know! But I'll get her back for sure." Kiba said. _"…maybe I'll think of some way to make her hate me less… hmmm." _"Wait a second… why are you the one that's giving me this advice? I don't see you with a girl or anything."

"That's none of your business Inuzuka." Kankuro said, giving him a sharp look. "Besides, I'm busy being advisor to the Kazekage…"

"Okay then… whatever you say." Kiba said with a smirk. "See yah." And with that, he left.

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"So, if something bad happens to me, Kakashi will be replacing me as Hokage eh?" the Godaime said.

"Yes. He is clearly the obvious choice for the sixth Hokage." Homura, one of the elders of Konoha said.

"Even I can see that." Tsunade said. "That actually seems like a good choice… but…"

"You don't agree? Remember, as Hokage you have to put the safety of the village first." Koharu, the other elder said.

"I am fully aware of that, and I trust in Kakashi's ability and loyalty… but somehow, I think that he won't accept it…" Tsunade said, smiling a little, thinking of a certain loudmouth blond-haired shinobi. I won't retire until Naruto's ready to take over.

"I still have a few years left in me. But I agree that when we do have to make a choice for the sixth, we should get Kakashi's opinion." Tsunade said. _"He'll say Naruto should be the Hokage, for sure."_

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"Ahchoo!" the masked jonin sneezed.

"Kakashi-sensei… you should really take care of yourself better. You aren't as young as you were when you first trained us you know." A pink-haired kunoichi said while pouring some hot tea for her former sensei. _"…wait… why am I pouring him tea? It's not like he's going to take off that mask and drink it… oh well…"_

"It's noting… I don't have a cold." Kakashi said, giving that one-eyed smile through his mask.

"Sasuke-kun is picking up Fugaku from the Academy, he'll probably be back in a few minutes." She said, taking a seat.

"Fugaku? Ah… how has he been doing?" Kakashi said with a smile. "…_Another little Sasuke, another smaller version of me." _

"Top of his class." Sakura said, beaming.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from the blood of the great Uchiha clan and Konoha's best medic-nin." Kakashi said. _"…and with Naruto to becoming Hokage… I guess I didn't mess up as much as I thought I did… even if they are my first and last team."_

"Please don't say that Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura said, sighing. "There's too much pressure on him already."

"Sorry." He replied. "Is there something wrong?"

"Sensei… it's just that… Sasuke… ever since you two went on that mission to get Madara Uchiha… he's been acting… different…" she said with a sad expression on her face.

"How so?" Kakashi said, taking out another copy of Icha-icha.

"He's always quiet, and seems to be thinking deeply about something… like he was before… before… you know." She said, tears now flowing from her eyes.

"I see. What can I do?" he said as he put down the book.

"…he really tries to hide it… especially when Fugaku is around, he smiles and acts happy and all that… but when he's alone… I see it Kakashi-sensei… and he doesn't tell me anything… you're like an older brother to him… maybe, you can?" she said, looking at her former sensei's face with her tear-soaked eyes.

"Okay Sakura… I'll try. Everything's going to be okay." He said reassuringly. "Don't worry."

Sakura then wiped the tears off her eyes.

Just then, the sliding door opened, revealing Sasuke and Fugaku, who were breathing heavily.

"What happened to you two?" Sakura said.

"Fugaku had some… unexpected company." Sasuke said, eying his son.

"You should've seen them mom! So many girls… so annoying… they're creeping me out!" Fugaku said.

Sakura smiled and turned to give a confused look to her husband. Kakashi just had an amused look on his face.

"Uhm, let me put it this way… remember those days when we were at the academy?" Sasuke said.

"Oh… I get it." Sakura said, almost laughing. "Don't worry Fugaku-kun… it'll get better when you get a genin team… you'll only have one of them to annoy you."

"Don't you mean worse?" Sasuke said, smirking.

"Hey! I wasn't that bad!" Sakura said, pouting.

"Yeah… you weren't." Sasuke said, smiling as he took a seat next to his wife.

"Okaasan! Otoosan told me he would teach me a fire-jutsu!" Fugaku said, beaming as he sat down too.

"Fire-jutsu?" Kakashi said. "ahh… the famous Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu… I haven't seen you use that in a while Sasuke."

"Well, I've been using my lightning based jutsus more frequently these days." Sasuke said.

"Don't you mean MY lightning based jutsus?" Kakashi said. "I did invent the Chidori after all…"

"Yeah…yeah… but you haven't seen what I can do with it." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Okay, okay…" Kakashi said.

"Can I ask you a favor Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke said.

"Sure." He replied.

"Do you have any more of those elemental chakra papers?" he said.

"Here." Kakashi said, taking out three sheets of paper from his pocket.

"Thanks." Sasuke said, and he turned to Fugaku.

"Now, Fugaku… this is a special sheet of paper that can detect a person's chakra element. There's fire, water, earth, lightning, and wind. Now… if you focus you're chakra into it like this…" he said, and the paper instantly crumpled up. "Something happens. If the paper crumples up like this, you're a lightning type. Like Kakashi-senpai and me. But most jonin can use two or more elements… like how I can use fire for example. Most Uchiha are fire types." Then he handed the paper to Fugaku. "You try."

Fugaku shakily took the paper from his father's hand, somewhat nervous. _"…I have to be a fire-type… or a lightning type…" _He focused his chackra into it… and…

The paper burst into flame.

"Wow! I'm a fire type! Yosh!" Fugaku said, jumping happily in the air.

"Great! Kakashi-senpai… would you mind helping me teach him?" Sasuke said. "You won't be teaching at the academy anymore… but… well… I can't think of a better teacher."

"Wow. No problem then." Kakashi said.

* * *

:There we go… what's Kiba gonna do? What's this Hokage business? What's up with Sasuke?

:I'm sure you guys can guess what's going to happen with this Hokage thing. It's obvious really.

:Thanks for reading! Please review!


	11. Chapter 11: The Setting Sun

:Okay… here we go! Sorry for the long time to update, school is back, sophomore year is pretty busy!

:I don't own Naruto…

* * *

**Chapter 11: The Setting Sun**

Kakashi gave another one of his one-eyed smiles at his two former students, and his future student before leaving the Uchiha compound.

"…_I'll let you off the hook this time Sasuke, but if I find out you told anyone about me and Anko… well, let's just say you're lucky Sakura is so worried about you, and Fugaku is just too, well, he needs you… I guess you didn't turn out too bad after all…"_

He made his way to his home, as the sun was setting, and took out another Icha-icha copy to read off of while walking casually on the streets of Konoha. But, just as he reached his apartment, he found two people there he least expected to find.

"Koharu-sama, Homura-sama… what brings you here?" He said plainly as he took a seat on the couch opposite the two village elders.

"We want to talk to you about the Hokage position." Homura said.

"Hokage? Me?" Kakashi said, as he put the book down in disbelief. "I don't think the Godaime is in need of replacing."

"Yes, yes, but in the event that something unexpected might happen, I think you already know that you were chosen as the replacement." Koharu said.

"I was informed, yes. But why are you two here? If I remember correctly, Tsunade-sama is still Hokage." He said indifferently, he really didn't like these two old geezers, dwelling in the past and making wrong decisions.

"Yes, yes. She is still Hokage. We are simply here to ask you who you think is suitable to be Rokudaime, if you do not assume the position." Homura said casually.

"Ahh… well, the future Rokudaime should be old and ready enough to assume the position by the time the Godaime retires… one of my former students would gladly accept the offer." Kakashi said with another one of his smiles. "But tomorrow is a long day, and I'm sure the two village elders have better things to do… thank you for coming." He said, showing them out the door, glad to be rid of them.

"…_do they even have to ask? Tsunade will surely choose Naruto…" _he said, sighing and getting ready for some rest.

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"One of his former students? Which one?" Koharu said as they reached their private meeting room after visiting Kakashi.

"Isn't it obvious?" Homura said. "It's the Uchiha."

"What makes you so sure?" Koharu asked. "He betrayed the village, and you know what his bloodline is capable of, you know what really happened that night of the massacre, you know the reasons why he is dangerous."

"Kakashi trusts the Uchiha, and because he has already married one of Konoha's kunoichis and has a son, I doubt he will pose much danger to Konoha." Homura explained. "As of what I know, he does not know the truth behind his clan's massacre. He is smart, and he knows how politics works. I can see him as a good candidate for Hokage."

"I see. It is the least we can do, after all that has happened. We do owe his clan something." Koharu agreed.

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"Now...what to get, what to do?" Kiba said as he was thinking to himself walking in the very picturesque streets of Sunagakure. He looked towards the sun making it's way down to touch the horizon… "I've got it!" He said, and he and Akamaru rushed towards their guest accommodations.

Once he got there, he found a bored Ino sitting on the bed. "Hey Ino! I want to show you something!" Kiba said, as he got in the room.

"Errm… Kiba… Did you know that they gave both of us only one room?" She said with a worried expression.

"They did?" Kiba said with a pretend confused expression on his face. Things sure were going his way, how lucky for him. He knows nothing about all his friends plotting for this.

"Yeah." Ino said. "There's a shinobi meeting or something, and this is all they've got. I could get a hotel room or something…"

"Don't. It's better if we stay here. We can't reject their hospitality." Kiba said.

"Well, that is true." She agreed. "But how are we gonna-?"

"Let's worry about that later! We haven't got enough time!" Kiba said as he grasped Ino's arm and set her on Akamaru's back. "Let's go Akamaru!"

They were soon making their way with lightning ninja speed to a place Ino knew nothing about. All she could get from her former fiancé dog-boy Inuzuka was "Don't worry. It'll be fine!" with that fanged grin of his. The strange thing was, she was playing along with it. She knew she should just forget everything about him, and stand up, move on. But the way he's acting now just makes it a thousand times harder to hate him.

"Why are you doing this Kiba?" She whispered to herself. "Why?"

What she didn't know, was that Kiba could hear her, and whispered an answer to himself. "Because I still love you, and I don't want to lose you again."

After a few minutes, they found their way to the top of a huge sand dune overlooking Suna. The red setting sun was touching the edge of the horizon. Kiba got Ino off Akamaru, and gazed at the sun's red glow.

"It's beautiful." Ino said, as she looked at the sight.

"Like you." Kiba said, though he didn't really mean to.

Ino didn't reply, but she did smile.

Silence settled on the couple as they watched the setting desert sun.

Kiba broke the quiet as the sun had finally gone down. "Well, I've never seen the sun set in the desert before."

Ino smiled. "Me neither. Thanks Kiba." She said. It was a beautiful sight, and she hasn't done something like this in a while. She missed the feeling. "I bet you get to watch sunsets all the time."

"Mostly on afternoon walks with Akamaru, but nothing like this. Right boy?" He said as he petted his dog.

"Why did you do this Kiba?" she said somewhat exasperatedly. "I know you have someone else, and watching the sunset alone together isn't usually what 'just friends' do." She said, not looking the Inzuka in the eye, but holding some desert sand and making it slip through her fingers.

"Because we aren't 'just friends' Ino. To me, we're 'special', and you have to admit, you don't see the sun set like that everyday." He said with a toothy grin. _"…I don't really have someone else… I just have her because she reminds me of you…" _he thought.

"What do you mean…'special'?" she said awkwardly.

"Can we please stop pretending to hate each other, or pretending that nothing ever happened? I know that I still love you Ino. You know I do." He said, gazing at the blonde's beautiful blue eyes.

"Kiba…" she said.

"There you go again. Saying my name… then not saying more." Kiba said, with a hint of concern. "Please Ino. Tell me the truth now, and I promise I won't bother you again."

"Well… the thing is…" she said shakily. Should she just tell him the truth? Will it ever work out? What afterwards? She decided to take the gamble. After all… there's nothing much left to lose, and nothing worse than what had already happened could. "I… do."

"You do!?" Kiba said, wide-eyed and smiling. "She does! Did you hear that Akamaru?! She does!" he said, jumping in the air and raising his fist. Akamaru gave a yip of joy.

"…" Ino just stared at Kiba, but tears were welling up in her eyes. This was very confusing, and what should she do now? Doesn't Kiba have this other girl at home?

"Hey… please don't cry." Kiba said, as he stopped celebrating his victory. "I don't want you to cry for me again… okay?"

"Shut up dog-boy. You're not that lucky." Ino said, wiping her eyes and giving a mock-laugh.

"Now that's the Ino I remember!" He said, as he stretched out his had, and helped her up. "Lets go back, things are getting dark, the desert sure is cold at night."

"Just because I told you… doesn't mean it's going to be that easy!" she said, as they were making their way back.

"Okay then." Kiba said with a toothy grin. He had something up his sleeve he was pretty sure Ino wouldn't resist.

"Wait a second Kiba." Ino said, as she thought of something.

"Yeah?" He said, stopping and turning to look at her.

"Uhm…" She said, she was about to ask about the girl that Kiba had at home. What were they doing? This wasn't right. He was with someone else. But, it felt so good, so right. No one would know anyway. They were three days away from Konoha, and Gaara and Kankuro wouldn't know a thing. Maybe this gamble would be worth it. "…nothing. Nevermind." But she knew that they had to talk about it sooner or later.

…_a not-so tragic affair…_

* * *

:So… who saw the Sasuke-Hokage mix up from a mile away? (sees people raise hands) I knew it. I'm too predictable. Damn.

:Sorry if the Kiba and Ino thing went by too fast, but they do love each other, and just have to go and say it, it's stupid that some people take far too long.

:What do you think? Too many cliffhangers?

:Please Review! Thanks for Reading!

:Special thanks to everyone who ever reviewed! I would never be able to write without them!


	12. Chapter 12: By Your Side

:School is totally preventing me from updating fast. Sorry.

:Still don't own Naruto.

* * *

**Chapter 12: By Your Side**

Kiba covered Ino's eyes as they neared their guest rooms. He had a surprise for her, which was something he usually had for her back then.

"Oh my…" Ino said as she took in the sight before her eyes.

"Like it?" Kiba said with his oh-so-famous fanged grin.

"How'd you manage to do all this?" Ino asked as she entered their room.

"You're not the only one who can use shadow clones you know." He said as he joined her. "I guess this solves our accommodation problem eh?"

"…" Ino smiled. Kiba hasn't done anything like this before. He actually filled the room with desert flowers. White petals were scattered everywhere. Who would've thought he'd be that thoughtful?

"You know, I was going to use lavenders, but I couldn't find any here in Suna." He said, handing her one of the white blooms on the bed.

"Wait, wait… wait a second!" Ino said, trying to figure everything out. "You planned all this didn't you?! You and Sakura, and Kankuro, and EVERYONE!?" she said, shooting Kiba a 'you-better-answer-or-you-die' look.

"No." he said. "Maybe they did, but I didn't know anything about a plan." He said. "I swear."

"Hmm… yeah. You're not that good." She said with a smirk.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Kiba said.

"We haven't seen each other in a while, but you're still the dog-boy I remember… though I have to admit, you've kinda grown up… I never would have guessed you would think of this." She said teasingly, and gave Kiba a short kiss on the cheek.

"You're still the same old blondie." Kiba said, smirking.

"You know what I think?" Ino said with a serious look to Kiba.

"What?" he asked.

"They totally set us up!" she said, referring to all their friends from Konoha, and even the ones from Suna.

"So that's why everything's been working out so well…" Kiba said with a thoughtful expression. "I know! We can totally have some fun with this!"

"You mean we can get back at them for setting us up?" she said.

"Exactly." He answered. "They're probably waiting for us to go home and get together again… I'm not saying I don't want that to happen… but…" he sighed. "…we have to act like nothing happened on this mission."

"Great idea!" she exclaimed. "So… all we have to do is PRETEND. We seem to be doing that a lot."

"Yeah." He replied. "But we can still see each other… right?"

"We just have to be careful no-one sees US." She said.

"I've got a great idea…" he said, and whispered it into her ears.

"Perfect!"

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"Okay, so your training begins tomorrow." Sasuke said, as he ruffled his son's dark hair. They were at the front porch, and it was a starry cold night.

"Wait, otoosan…" Fugaku said as he looked curiously at his father.

"Yeah?" Sasuke said.

"Why do you mess up my hair a lot?" he said, smiling.

"I don't know. Habit I guess." He said. "I used to hate it when people did it to me when I was a kid."

"It's not that I hate it dad." Fugaku said, looking embarrassed.

"I know… My brother…" he sighed. "…he used to poke my forehead all the time. Especially when I ask him to go train with me and he would be too busy to go." He actually smiled at the memory. Yes, THE Sasuke Uchiha smiled about his brother.

"But you won't be busy tomorrow right?" Fugaku said with a slight look of worry on his face.

"I won't, promise. I'll be there." He said.

"So… who was uncle?" he dared to ask, he was always curious about that grave his father was always visiting, and why his mom would look so sad and worried when his dad was alone there. He was very curious about a lot of things.

"My older brother, his name was Itachi, and he was a clan prodigy. He became an ANBU squad captain at thirteen." He said. "I was always trying to be better than him."

"But you're amazing!" he said proudly. "I want to be just like you otoosan!"

Sasuke shot a look at his son. "Don't." was his blunt reply.

Fugaku's expression had gone from happy to just plain confused. _Don't? Don't be like him? Who wouldn't want to be like otoosan?_

"You don't want to be just like me." Sasuke said, now serious. "I don't want you to be like me." _You still don't know who I was… who I am. _

"Why otoosan?" Fugaku said. "You're Konoha's best ANBU! Everyone likes you! Mom loves you! You have so many friends! No-one can beat you! You should be Hokage!"

"You'll understand." He said. "Just be you. Okay? Don't try to convince yourself to be anything else." _Not an avenger, not me, not anyone or anything else._

"Uh…okay." Fugaku said.

"Great, now go to bed and get some rest. You've got a big day tomorrow." He said to his son.

Fugaku was excited for tomorrow, but was confused for today. There were still so many questions to ask, and so many things to find out. Why was everyone keeping so much from him? Why is everything a big secret? Today though, he had to get some sleep, and just look forward to the day ahead.

He said goodnight to his mom, who was in the kitchen cleaning up, and then he went to his room and went to bed.

"He's really excited." Sakura said, as Sasuke entered the room.

"I know. He couldn't stop asking about it." He said.

"He's extremely curious isn't he?" Sakura replied.

"That's why its so hard to keep everything from him." Sasuke sighed.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. I'll be here to help you out." She gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you." He said.

"Now where have I heard that before?"

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"You're late." she said, seeing the silver haired man enter the clearing.

"I'm always late." He replied.

"We haven't seen each other in a while. I thought you would've been more punctual… You're still depressed about Obito?" the purple haired woman said.

"Some things never change I guess."

"They say misery loves company."

"If you're misery, does that mean I'm company?"

She pulled down the mask that hid half his face. "Shut up and kiss me already."

And he did.

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Kiba woke up yawning, and found that it was still night time. There was a very, very clear night sky outside, what else would you expect from a desert? All the stars were out and glittering, and the moon was full. It's light entered the room through the window just behind the bed. Akamaru was sleeping soundly on the rug on the floor.

Kiba felt something warm right next to him… it was Ino.

She was facing the other direction, and was breathing softly, her pale skin seemed to glow in the moonlight. Her long blond hair was scattered and she was in lilac sleeping dress. It's like he's never seen her this beautiful.

He turned to her direction, and he could clearly smell her scent. She still smelled like lavenders, even if the room was filled with desert flower petals. Kiba smiled a cocky grin, yawned and stretched his arms, then embracing Ino.

_She'll kill me for this in the morning…_

Somehow, he seemed okay with that. He then gave in to the bliss of sleep. What he didn't know, was that Ino woke up as he put his arms around her. She smiled.

_I'll kill him for this in the morning…_

* * *

:Hehe… so many random moments… well, whatever…

:What do Kiba and Ino have planned? What will happen when Sasuke finds out that he's a candidate for Rokudaime? How will Naruto react? How's Fugaku's training going go?

:Thanks for reading! Please review!


	13. Chapter 13: Graves and Beds

:I'm really REALLY sorry I'm taking forever to update. School, writer's block, Warcraft and SimCity, periodical exams, and all that stuff are also preventing me from updating.

:After 412 (and still going) manga chapters, do you still think I'll ever own the fruit of creative genius that is Naruto? Man, you are dense.

:Wooh! I'm finally fourteen today. I told myself I'd update at least one of my fanfics for my birthday, and here it is…

* * *

**Chapter 13: Graves and Beds  
**

Fugaku was tossing and turning on his bed, he was so excited about his training for tomorrow. He would finally be able to learn some more about his clan's history. Though he did wonder where the clan actually was, since all the Uchiha he knew were only his parents. Whenever he asked his mother, she would always change the subject, and his father would just tell him that he'll find out when he's older. There were a lot of things he didn't understand, and it was like everyone else knew more about his own clan than he, who was actually part of it, did. Yes, he is a very, very, curious and mature-thinking five year old. He's the spawn of THE Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno… He's very much a prodigy as much as his father, his uncle, and his father's sensei. What else would you expect?

Fugaku gave up on sleep, and he took off the covers. He crept quietly to the other side of his room, and stuck his ear to the wall, checking if his parent's were asleep.

Apparently, they weren't…

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said as Sasuke lay next to her.

"Hm?" He said, almost sleepily.

"When we were younger, was I really your first choice to help rebuild your clan?" she mused.

"Rebuild the clan?" Fugaku muttered to himself on the other side of the wall. _Does that mean the clan was broken? Or everyone died? How? _

"What kind of question is that?" he replied.

_I want to know that too. _The little boy thought.

"Just answer it. I'm only curious."

"No. You weren't my first choice. But then again, I didn't really list Kunoichi down or anything. Itachi was still alive back then, wasn't he?"

_So what if uncle Itachi was alive? What did that have to do with anything?_ He was getting more and more annoyed at realizing how very little he knew.

"So who were your other choices?" she asked with a thoughtful expression.

"Hmm… maybe a strong and smart Kunoichi like Tenten, or maybe someone like Temari, or maybe even Ino, because of her mind justu skills, then again why not Hinata? I've always wondered what would happen if you combine Konoha's two advanced kekkei genkai. What happens with a sharingan and a byakugan? Now there's a thought." He said with a thoughtful look of his own.

_Hmm… I want to know that too! _

"Wow. So I was dead last?" she said, kind of depressed.

"But I chose you in the end didn't I?" he said with a smirk.

"Why did you choose me then?" she asked.

"Because you were the most logical choice. Everyone else hated me after I went missing and left the village, but you didn't. It saves me a lot of time." He replied with a stoic look.

_Left the village? Went missing? But, missing-nin are traitors, aren't they? Otoosan can't be a traitor!_

"That's it?!" she said, sitting up. "I was a damn timesaver?!"

"Just joking! You can be so easy to fool sometimes." He said with a smile.

"It's already been four years, but I still can't tell weather you're serious or joking. You never joked." She said. "Seriously, answer the question."

"Fine, fine. I knew it was going to be you ever since you were able to make Orochimaru's curse seal recede." He said, as if looking at a flashback. "…that day in the forest of death. Maybe it was the first time I actually felt like someone actually cared, or something. Even I don't know how you did it. It's all a blur, but crystal-clear at the same time. You were the first girl I actually risked my life to save. Get it?"

_What's a cursed seal? Who's this Orochimaru person? _Fukaru wondered behind the wall.

"…" Sakura was speechless. "Goodnight Sasuke-kun. Thanks."

"It's you I should thank." He said, as she gave him a kiss.

Fugaku could almost barf at the mushy-ness of his parents. Why did they have to be so… ugh. Well, it wasn't completely useless. He was able to add a few more questions to his already long, long, long, long, and here it is –long list. Man, Sasuke better prepare for a long talk when Fugaku turns thirteen.

The five-year-old then backed away from the wall, and made his way out the window for another one of his explorations of the Uchiha compound.

"He's gone." Sasuke said as he sensed Fugaku moving away. "He's really curious isn't he? I hope he didn't hear too much."

"Don't worry." Sakura replied. _Besides, he's not the only one who's wondering._

Minutes later, after passing through a small garden with cherry blossoms in it, Fugaku finds the grave he knew his father always visited. He looked at the black obelisk, the stone that held the names of the people buried there.

"I've seen this before…" he muttered while tracing his hand on the stone.

_**FLASHBACK: About two years ago…**_

A little three year old Uchiha was quietly exploring his clan's compound, when he found an interesting stone in the middle of a pretty garden, from what he knew, these were the kind of stones where dead people's names were written. He could read a few names from it.

"I-ta-chi Uchiha." He whispered. He looked at the next name. "Mi-ko-to Uchiha." He read. And he saw the next name… "Fu-…ga-…ku… Uchiha."

He stared at it for a moment…

"Fu-ga-ku Uchiha." He re-read it again. "T-that's me."

"I'm dead." He muttered, still staring at the name. "I can't be dead."

"I'm not dead!" he said. Reassuring himself.

"Am I?" tears were beginning to roll down his cheeks and his thoughts were all jumbled up in his already very confused mind. There were many things still unknown to the little boy. He ran home, and hugged his mother.

"What's wrong Fugaku-kun?" she asked with a kind smile.

"A-am I dead?" he said, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Of course not! What would give you that idea?" she said with a look of amusement.

"The m-memorial stone… h-had my name on it!" he explained.

"You're not dead." Sasuke said with a stoic expression as he entered the room. "You were named after my father."

"Ojii-san? I-I was named after ojii san?" he said.

"Yes." His father answered.

_**Flashback End.**_

"Oh yeah… the day I found out I was named after ojiisan…" he muttered to himself. He then came to a startling conclusion… he finally figured out where the rest of the Uchiha Clan really was… it was as clear as the many black rocks that stood hidden behind the cherry blossom tree he never got the chance to 

see two years ago… the Uchiha clan was dead. Him, his mother and his father… they were all that was left.

How did they die?

Now that was another question for his list.

Right now though, he was very sleepy, and after rubbing his eyes, made his way stealthily back to his room.

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It was a fine and sunny morning… what else would you expect from the desert of Sunagakure?

"Eh?" A blonde said as she woke up from her sleep. She couldn't move. _Oh yeah. Kiba._

"Hey, mutt." She said, trying to get her hands free from his grasp.

"Wake up dog-boy." She said, hitting his head with her now-free hand.

Kiba just moved a little and yawned. "Just a little longer…"

"Ugh, I swear if you keep this up, you're going to sleep on the floor!" she said, getting annoyed.

"Ino…" he said, tightening his grip. "Don't leave me." He was smiling that fanged grin of his again.

Blood rushed into Ino's cheeks and turned them a bright shade of pink. _Are you really awake?_ "I'm not going to get anywhere with that vice-grip of yours." She said. "Come on Kiba, get up!" she smacked him on the head again.

"Huh?" he said when he felt something hit his head, as he opened his eyes and saw bright blue eyes, blonde hair, fair skin… Ino.

"You finally decided to wake up!" she said. "Now… let go of me."

"What if I don't want to?" he replied with a smirk.

"What do you mean you don't want to?" she said.

"I mean… I'm not letting go, and you're not going anywhere." He said, a smile playing on his lips as he tightened his grip again.

"You know I have a jutsu that can scramble your brain even without using hand signs, right?" she said with a smirk of her own.

"Okay, okay. Man, you're scary since you came back from all that training." He said as he let go and Ino sat up.

"You better believe it dog-boy." She said, standing up and winking.

"Aww… and you were so cute when you needed protection." He said.

"Does that mean I'm not cute anymore?" she said with a pout.

"No…" he said, standing up from the bed and going behind Ino. He whispered in her ear: "You're much, much cuter."

Ino blushed.

* * *

:Well, there it is. You didn't think Ino and Kiba would beat each other to a bloody pulp did you?

:I've always wanted to try writing a more innocent Fugaku. Hehe. I'm not sure if I achieved it though.

:I actually got to upload on my birthday! What an achievement! I'll try my best to go update faster.

:THANKS FOR READING, PLEASE REVIEW! (come on, it's my birthday, hehe)


	14. Chapter 14: A Scheme of Their Own

::Right… on to chapter 14… after uh… more than a year! Sumimasen… my last update was on my 14th birthday, which coincidentally, is also Fugaku Uchiha's (Sasuke's dad) birthday… I can't believe I just found that out, it's such a weird coincidence.

::I don't own Naruto. I think you guys know that already.

* * *

**Chapter 14: A Scheme of Their Own**

"You know… your incredibly simple idea might actually work dog-boy." Ino said, while combing her long blonde hair.

"No one will suspect a thing." Kiba said. "Don't worry about it. We'll be the one's laughing when they find out we've been tricking them all along!" Kiba said with a fanged grin.

"Fine, fine." Ino said. "Let's just go, Gaara's waiting." She said as they exited their bedroom.

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"Today will be your first day of training." Kakashi said as they reached a small pier by a pond near the Uchiha compound. "We will teach you the basics of the Uchiha Clan's fire techniques."

"This is the same place my father taught me the technique." Sasuke stated. "If you master it, you will be a true Uchiha." He said with pride.

"Now… this technique is for basic offense against an enemy, it can also provide some cover, and it's the basis for many of our clan's variations of fire jutsu, which we could be teaching you later on… oh, and my favorite use for this jutsu… is for getting rid of your uncle Naruto's annoying Kagebunshins." He said with a smirk. "You ready?"

"Hai." He replied.

"Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger" Sasuke said, acting out each seal for his son. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu."

And a brilliant ball of flame appeared from his mouth. It seemed like he didn't even put any effort into the technique.

"I'm learning that?!" Fugaku said, beaming.

"The Uchiha's most basic fire jutsu." Sasuke said as the flame died down.

"SUGOI!" Fugaku exclaimed. "This is going to be so cool!"

"Snake…" he said as he formed the hand sign. "Ram…" "Monkey…" "Boar…" "Horse…" "Tiger…" as the last hand sign was formed, he said: "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

A small flame came out of Fugaku's mouth. He started coughing because of the smoke.

"Take it easy Fugaku." Sasuke said. "We don't expect you to get it right the first time. It took me days to learn this, and I was already eight at the time." He smiled and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Concentrate your chakra and control the release. You can do this." He then backed away and let Fugaku practice.

"Aww. That was so cute." Kakashi said a distance away. "I never expected you to be that nice. Why don't you try teaching at the academy?"

"Kakashi-senpai, you can't be serious." Sasuke said. "Me? Teaching at the academy?" he said as he began to laugh. "You seriously think I can teach children?... I think I might accidentally blow them up or something… " He said.

"Yeah, you're right." Kakashi said with a slight chuckle. _You're too demanding and impatient._

"KATON: GOKAKYU NO JUTSU!" Fugaku shouted. A slightly bigger ball of flame appeared.

Sasuke gave a satisfied "Hn." Seeing his son's improvement.

"_I can't believe this is the Sasuke Uchiha I taught the Chidori to." _Kakashi thought as he brought out another Icha-icha copy.

"Reading again?" Sasuke said.

"You seem to have things under control. I'll step in later." Kakashi said, and he began reading his book.

"KATON: GOKAKYU NO JUTSU!!!" another ball of flame appeared.

"Fugaku, the volume of your shouting out the name of the technique doesn't make it any more effective." Sasuke said. _But then again… it seems to work for Naruto… _

"H-hai." Fugaku replied, catching his breath.

"_This is going to be a long day." _Kakashi said as he found a tree to read under.

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Later that afternoon, in Suna…

"It's a false alarm…" Kiba muttered, looking over the file again.

"…the suspect has no information on the Akatsuki that we don't already know." Ino said.

"But there is something about the remnants of Otogakure…" Kiba said, thinking. "Hasn't Oto already stopped being a threat since Uchiha killed Orochimaru?"

"They say he's experimented on thousands upon thousands of people…" Gaara said stoically. "…there could be a chance that he is connected to this somehow."

"That could be it." Ino said. "But what will you do to the spy?"

"He died shortly after we were able to extract the information out of him." Gaara answered. "It was very strange… his body suddenly transformed… like Uchiha did back then… but his body probably couldn't handle it."

"The curse mark?" Kiba and Ino said, surprised.

"Most likely." Gaara muttered. _This is more serious than you seem to have planned, Temari._ "You've already accomplished your mission… you can return to Konoha tomorrow. It's probably better to report this to the Hokage yourselves, rather than risk it being intercepted."

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama." Ino said politely.

"Yeah…" Kiba followed. _It's not like we really did anything… something's wrong here… _

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"Just a minute!" Sakura said, wiping her hands from washing the dishes. She then walks to the door and opens it to reveal two people she never expected to appear on the Uchiha compound's doorstep.

"H-homura-sama! Koharu-sama!" She said, startled. "Please, come in…"

"Thank you." The two elders said. "Where is your husband?"

"He's out by the lake… training Fugaku." Sakura said, beginning to prepare tea as the elders sat down. "They're probably on the way back by now." She sighs. "Sorry to ask, but, what brings you here?"

"We have some very important business with your husband." Homura said. "It's still confidential."

"Oh." Sakura said, pouring the two elders some tea.

"How is your son?" Koharu asked almost casually.

"Top of his class." Sakura answered proudly. "Sometimes he overdoes it though."

"It's to be expected of the future Uchiha heir." Homura muttered darkly.

_That's what everyone keeps saying. _Sakura thought, frustrated.

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"Can I go now?" Konohamaru said for the hundredth time.

"Not until I'm sure that everything's going to work out tomorrow." Naruto said, forming the hand sign again.

"But you're already great at making shadow clones!" The Third Hokage's grandson protested. "Why do you need to practice making boring ordinary ones?"

"I already told you!" Naruto replied, frustrated. "I can't teach little kids the Kagebunshin! It's way too advanced for them."

"Fine, fine…" Konohamaru muttered. "What do you need me here for?"

"Uh…" Naruto scratched his head.

"I need to practice for the jounin trials too you know!" Konohamaru declared. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"Just shut up and show me how the ordinary bunshins are done, okay?" Naruto said, a little embarrassed. _It's the one jutsu that's always given me trouble. I never had to learn it after Kagebunshins… but now I wish I did._

"What if I don't want to?!" Konohamaru said.

"Just do it okay?" Naruto pleaded, then he smirked. "If you don't I'll tell Moegi about that perverted jutsu you used the other day."

Konohamaru looked appalled. "Alright… fine!"

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"I can't believe we didn't have to do anything…" Ino said, plopping down on the bed.

"You don't think that's a good thing?" Kiba asked. "I thought we were extremely lucky."

"What's with you and that attitude?... you used to love doing missions." Ino replied.

"Well… it was totally different before the Akatsuki went hiding…" Kiba muttered. "I'd have to go tracking with ANBU I never knew the name of, and get ambushed… and have to leave comrades behind."

"Oh…" Ino said, mentally reprimanding herself.

"…but I still love a challenge." Kiba smiled reassuringly. "There are loads of other missions out there. Besides, ours isn't even over yet."

"Yeah… a lot could happen on our journey back to Konoha." Ino said.

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"We're back, mom!" Fugaku called happily as he took off his shoes and entered their house.

"How'd it go?" Sakura asked cheerfully.

"It was awesome!" Fugaku replied enthusiastically. "I think I'll be able to master it by tomorrow!"

"Sakura I-" Sasuke stopped in mid sentence as he saw the two elders in his house.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, her smile changing into a look of worry.

"Could you take Fugaku for a walk outside?" Sasuke tried to hide his anger with a smile.

"But we just got home!" Fugaku protested. "It's dinnertime already!"

Kakashi stepped into the conversation. "Fugaku, you should listen to your father… take a walk around town… it'll be good for your training." He said with a kind smile through his mask.

"Okay." Fugaku reluctantly said as he took his mother's hand.

"We'll be back soon." Sakura said with an expression that told Sasuke 'you-better-tell-me-everything-or-else'… but he wasn't paying attention to it right now.

As soon as Sakura and Fugaku were out… the sound of a sword being unscathed was heard.

* * *

::Woah… it's been so long… a lot has happened in the Naruto universe since the last time I updated.

::Thanks for still reading! Please review!


	15. Chapter 15: Threats and Transformations

::I'm glad that at least someone is still reading this. THANKS! Anyway, I don't like starting something I don't finish… so I will finish this story, for sure... uh, eventually. Sorry for the late update… my PSP sucked me into it's addictive Final Fantasy clutches.

::I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto-sama is a genius.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Threats and Transformations**

_What just happened? _Sakura thought to herself as she held her son's had through the village. _What does Sasuke have to do with the elders?_

"Mom… is anything wrong?" Fugaku asks worriedly, looking up at his mother.

"N-no. It's nothing." She replies with a reassuring smile, though the rustling of the leaves in the wind was foreboding.

"Wanna see my new jutsu?" he asks cheerfully. "Dad said I'm better at it than he was!"

"Okay." She answered.

Fugaku then takes his mother by the hand to the front yard of the Academy. "Look mom!" He closes his eyes and performs the hand seals. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" A brilliant ball of flame bursts from his mouth, and Sakura smiles. "That was amazing!" she says happily.

"Dad said I learned faster than he did." He said, beaming.

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"Wait Sasuke… don't do anything stupid." Kakashi says as he blocks Sasuke's sword with his kunai, protecting the elders.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asks, his Sharingan activating.

"We were planning on discussing the title of Hokage with you… but the current situation is making us reconsider our choice." Homura says, outraged.

"Me? Hokage?" Sasuke said incredulously as he lowered his sword a little. "What was the point of my clan's massacre if you were planning to make me Hokage?!"

"How do you know-?!" Koharu asked, startled.

"I know the truth behind what my brother did years ago… I know why he killed my clan… it's because of you people! You ordered him to massacre everyone so you could keep them from usurping your power!" Sasuke said, outraged.

Kakashi lowered his kunai and studied the situation in his head… how does Sasuke know? Was all of it true? What happened when he disappeared back in their mission to track down Uchiha Madara?

"It was for the good of the village. More people would have been killed if your clan's rebellion was allowed to have happened." Homura stated.

"For the good of the village…" Sasuke repeated. "That's exactly what you told my brother, didn't you? That my clan was a small price to pay for the good of the village?"

"You owe your life to him… he was ordered to kill all of your clan. All of them… but he couldn't kill you." Koharu said. "You should consider yourself lucky that the Third Hokage never approved of the massacre, so he let you live."

"Do you expect me to just let this pass?!" Sasuke said. "I know that I've betrayed the village before… I know that I'll be executed if I do this…" He slowly begins raising his sword. "…but I've wanted to kill you both for a while now… it's just like before… and here you are, right in front of me."

"Sasuke… don't do anything you'll regret…" Kakashi said, tightening his hold on his kunai.

_My life's already full of it._ He charges lightning chakra into the blade…

"What will your son think when he finds out his father murdered the village's elders?" Koharu said without fear, a shadow of a smirk on her old lips.

"How will your wife feel if you betray the village and leave again?" Homura said after Sasuke paused. "And we actually considered making you Hokage…"

The elders left, leaving Sasuke speechless with his sword on the floor.

"I… I couldn't do it." He said, looking at his trembling hand. "Why?"

"Because you're not an avenger anymore." Kakashi said, a small smile visible behind his mask. "I'm proud of you."

"But-"

"You already know that death will only lead to more death. And you have a family to worry about now."

"Thank you." Sasuke slowly picks up his sword and puts it back in its sheath. "What did they mean about considering making me Hokage?"

"The elders want to be the ones to choose the next Hokage… they asked me about it, and I told them that one of my former students would be perfect for the job." Kakashi replied.

"And they thought you meant me?" Sasuke said a little disbelievingly. "Is Naruto really that hard to believe? I mean… I left the village to get power from Orochimaru… and they thought I would be a better Hokage?"

"I guess." Kakashi said. "The elders are elders, after all. They think in outdated ways, besides, they were looking for a Hokage that wasn't linked to the Third, a Hokage that wouldn't share his ideologies."

"But still, me? Hokage?" Sasuke said. "Well, my clan would finally have the power that it's always wanted… but I never would've imagined…" _Though I guess it would be easier to kill those old geezers if I was Hokage...there'd be less questions, at any rate. _"I think Naruto would be much better for the job. It's all he talks about, anyway."

"You're right." Kakashi said, a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "We'll just have to believe in him."

"What happens now?" Sasuke rhetorically asked. "I'm sure I'm going to get punished for what I just did."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of this." Kakashi said, suddenly disappearing in a puff of smoke.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So… it's our last night in Suna…" Kiba said, patting Akamaru's head while Ino was fixing her hair.

"Don't even think about it Inuzuka." Ino snapped playfully.

"What?! I was asking where you wanted to get dinner or something!" Kiba asked. "Why do you always think that I want to-."

"You don't?" Ino asked, fake-pouting.

"Uh…" Kiba scratched the back of his head. _You already know I do…err…_

"You pass." Ino said, smiling. "It's nice to know you've grown up some. Now what was that about you paying for dinner?"

"Fine." Kiba said. "But I get to choose where."

"No problem." Ino said. Akamaru barked happily.

"Wait, wait… let's practice with the plan tonight." Kiba said, forming a hand seal and transforming into a red-haired Suna native he saw in the streets a few days back.

"Alright then." Ino said, also performing the henge and transforming into a pretty blue-haired girl she remembered meeting in the waterfall village back when she was training with Anko.

"Nice look." Kiba complimented.

"Thanks." Ino replied, and they made their way to the town, with Akamaru transformed into one of Kiba's sister's dogs.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next day…

"Good luck Fugaku!" Sakura said with a smile as she handed her son his bag for school.

"Thanks!" he beamed as he began to make his way to the Academy.

"I'll be going now." Sasuke said, putting on his ANBU mask, one of a hawk.

"Okay." Sakura said, a sad smile on her lips. She almost reached for her husband's hand and ask what was wrong, but he was gone before she had the chance. _What is it you're not telling me? _She could feel it since last night after they returned. Something was wrong. It was as clear as how Sasuke pretended to be asleep so she couldn't ask any questions.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Later, at the Academy…

"So, you're going to have a special teacher today." Iruka said, getting most of the class' attention. "He's a hardworking student and was taught by Top-ANBU Kakashi Hatake, and one of the great Sannin, Jiraiya."

"You taught him too, didn't you, Iruka-sensei?" Fugaku added.

"Yes, I did." Iruka said, unable to hide his pride for his all-time-favorite student. _Teachers shouldn't have favorites. Teachers shouldn't have favorites. _He tried to remind himself.

"He's also the son of the Fourth Hokage… Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto said as he entered the room in a puff of smoke, and… orange confetti?

_Nice entrance, Uncle Naruto. _Fugaku almost chuckled for real.

"Feel free to ask him anything you want… he will be teaching you the Bunshin Jutsu today." Iruka said, leaving the room.

"W-wait, Iruka-sensei-!" Naruto called.

_You know what they say… the student will always surpass the teacher… and said teacher needs a break. _Iruka thought, as he made his way into the lounge for a snack. _I'm sure you're going to do perfectly. _Favorites aside, that was a little too much to hope for from Konoha's Number One Knuckle-Head Ninja.

"Okay kids…" Naruto said, feeling his way around the situation. "…let's see what you've got. Who thinks they can perform the Bunshin without me teaching them?"

One hand makes its way up in the air, much to the awed sighs of the female students.

_It's another show-off. Great. _Naruto sarcastically said to himself. He scans the room for other hands, but sighs as he finds none. _Well, they are five-year olds after all._ "Right, Fugaku… up front."

Fugaku smiles as he makes his way to the front of the class. He forms the hand sign… "Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A perfect little Fugaku copy materializes in a small puff of smoke, to 'ahhs' and applause from the rest of the class.

_And he just had to do it perfectly too. _Naruto thought to himself. "Great work." He said, albeit begrudgingly.

"Thank you Uncle Naruto!" Fugaku says happily as he went back to his seat.

_Well, at least he's nicer than Sasuke. _"So… who wants to ask any question before we start?" Naruto addresses the class.

There's a hand in the air again.

"Yes, Sora?" Naruto calls Shikamaru and Temari's daughter.

"You said you were the son of the Fourth Hokage, but his name was Namikaze Minato… why is your last name Uzumaki?" Sora asked out of pure curiosity.

_A know-it-all, just like your dad… and demanding like your mom. _Naruto sighs. _This is going to be a long, long, long, long, long… long… long… day. _

For Naruto, at least.

* * *

::Well, I guess a long break was all this story needed. I've got the next few chapters all planned out. Naruto is fun to write for again!

::Thanks for reading. Reviews are very welcome.


	16. Chapter 16: Revelations

::Woah, it's been a while. Anyway, it's Christmas break, so I hope I can update faster.

::I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

* * *

"**.Chapter 16: Revelations."**

"Great job." Naruto said, after one of his students finally made a perfect copy.

"Thanks, Naruto-sensei." The little boy answered with a smile.

_Naruto-sensei… I guess I can get used to that._ And the thought brought a smile to his face. He then proceeds to give pointers and help those who were having some trouble with the jutsu. He found it a little surprising when he saw Fugaku helping out some of his classmates, it gave Naruto something to think about. _Is this how Sasuke would've been like if his clan wasn't killed? _Well, we could never know. Then he noticed a little boy sitting all alone near the window. He couldn't help but feel for the kid, he was all alone back in his own academy days after all.

"You okay kid?" Naruto asks, but the boy doesn't reply. He can't even see the boy's face, since he's kept it hidden on his knees and under his dark brown hair. "Come on, it's alright." He said, trying to get a response.

The boy raises his head a little, and Naruto gets surprised when he notices the veins near the boy's eyes. _A Byakugan… he must be one of Hinata's relatives. _"What's wrong?"

"…" the boy doesn't reply, but there was a surprised glint in his white eyes when he saw Naruto, but he looks out the window with a blank expression just the same.

"Hey! I'm talking to you here!" Naruto said, a little annoyed, he never liked being ignored.

"Naruto-sensei…" Fugaku was pulling on his sleeve and asked to whisper something in his ear. "His name's Kuroi from the Hyuuga's main branch, and he doesn't really talk much… and I've never seen him not use his Byakugan."

_He always uses his Byakugan? Doesn't that drain up chakra? Why would anyone do that?_

"Uh… thanks for telling me, Fugaku." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. _Honestly, the way he acts so nice but looks like his dad… it's… disturbing. And this Hyuuga kid… what's up with him? How much chakra does he have left to do jutsu if he always keeps his Byakugan active? Wouldn't it be weird… all the people you see would just be waves of chakra… _

Naruto sighs as he tries to figure out a way to fix all these problems. _Maybe teaching isn't the way to go._

* * *

"Godaime." Kakashi enters the Hokage's office in the usual fashion. A puff of smoke.

"What is it Kakashi?!" She asks, after obviously hiding the sake she was drinking behind that tower of paper.

"It's about Sasuke." He answered. "… he, well… almost assassinated the elders."

"What?!" the Godaime almost snapped the desk in two. _Not that I wouldn't, given the chance… but Sasuke doesn't exactly have a clean record… this could be trouble._

"I finally found out what happened during the time he disappeared on our mission to track down Uchiha Madara." Kakashi began retelling the plot between the village elders, Danzou, and Sasuke's brother, Uchiha Itachi. "Itachi sacrificed his own family for peace, but he couldn't kill his own brother… Sasuke told me that when he fought him for the last time, he was weak, and that all his ocular jutsu was transferred into him."

"The Uchiha clan massacre was a plot between the village elders?" Tsunade said, a little shocked. "Itachi was ordered to kill the clan to prevent them from taking power?"

"From what I heard Sasuke say, yes." Kakashi replied. "And I'm sure the elders will be plotting against Sasuke because of what he almost did."

"Those old geezers always have something in their sleeves. I wouldn't be surprised. It'll be troublesome, since Sasuke has betrayed the village before… but he's changed, hasn't he?" she asks, more to herself.

"I believe so." Kakashi answers behind his mask, his small smile completely hidden. "The look in his eyes when he failed to kill the elders… they weren't the eyes of the avenger he once claimed to be."

"I personally think that the elders will have a hard time if they want Sasuke executed… he's almost as skilled as you are." Tsunade commented, arms crossed. "He's the second best ANBU in the village, his missions are perfectly executed, no traces, fast, clean… but we can't allow word of the truth behind the massacre leak out either."

"That's true. The people might lose faith in the Kage…" Kakashi added. "But we can't just let this slip… we owe something to Sasuke, and his clan…" _Well, we could just wait for the elders to pass away… they don't seem to have that much left in them anyway._

"He won't get executed for what he's done. If those two show up here and demand it, I'll make sure it'll be reduced to a mere punishment… or nothing at all, if I can manage. I am Hokage after all." _But first, I'll have to see for myself if all this is really true. _

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." And Kakashi vanishes as quickly as he came.

"SHIZUNE!!!" Tsunade calls at the top of her lungs.

Shizune enters, gasping for breath a few seconds later. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?!"

"I need you to go look for some old records for me…"

* * *

"Not another sandstorm…" Kiba sighed as he tightened his grip on the cloak they got from Suna.

"I think I see a cave over there by the rocks! Let's stay there and wait for this to pass." Ino said, as she made her way there.

When they were safely in the shelter of the cave…

"Well, so much for seeing the sights…" Kiba said, patting Akamaru on the head.

"Oh well, I can take another mission to Suna anyway." Ino remarked. "…the village's safety comes first."

"But seriously, what are freaks from the remnants of Oto going to do against Konoha?" Kiba said.

"Haven't you fought against some of those before?" Ino asked. "Back when you guys went looking for Sasuke."

"Oh yeah." Kiba said, remembering the two-headed Sakon and Ukon. "But that was when Orochimaru was still alive. The past few missions I've been on had some connection to them… but they were pretty weak compared to those four back when we went looking for Sasuke."

"Maybe they were the experiments that went wrong." Ino said.

"I don't think any of his experiments went right." Kiba commented. "…he turned people into monsters. And from what I know… most of them were kids… kids that believed that Orochimaru would help them."

Ino was surprised at how… well… different Kiba was acting.

"…I remember having to kill one of them about a year ago." He said, his eyes softening. "He looked younger than the Uchiha's kid. He was being consumed by the curse mark… it was… disturbing. I couldn't let him suffer like that…"

"…so you killed him." Ino said.

"It's not like I wanted to…I had to." Kiba said. "Or he might have killed me."

"It's so hard being a shinobi sometimes." Ino said, sighing. "But I can't think of anything else I'd rather be."

"Me too." He replied.

* * *

Sasuke sighed as they leapt through the tree tops, the mist obscuring the view.

"Is anything wrong, Uchiha-senpai?" the ANBU with the cat mask asked.

"No, it's nothing." Sasuke replied.

"It's because we have to do all the dirty work, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically. "We work in the shadows while the jonin get all the attention… and our boss sucks!"

"Don't let them hear you say that." Sasuke said, sighing… _of all the rookies… why the only Aburame who ISN'T quiet? And, why on a mission here, of all places…_

"Come on! Don't you agree?" he said. "That old man is totally going senile! Hatake-sama should be leading the ANBU Black Ops!"

"I agree." Sasuke said, in a somewhat annoyed tone. "But Shiro, if you ever want to make it as an ANBU… you need to learn to keep quiet."

"Oh… right. Quiet, still as a ninja in the night, waiting for the perfect moment to strike." He recited, straight from the ninja handbook.

"This isn't an ANBU training mission." Sasuke said, drawing his chokuto and charging his chakra. "…it's real, so get serious."

"Hai, Uchiha-senpai." He whispered, as he let drop a couple of kikai bugs from his hand.

* * *

:: Anyway, at least this story is finally going somewhere…

::Thanks for reading, please review!


	17. Chap 17: Old Friends, New Acquaintances

::Again, Christmas break allows me the free time to update faster.

::I still don't own Naruto. I'm just one of its Naru-tarded fans, and proud of it!

* * *

"**Chapter 17: Old Friends and New Acquaintances."**

"Now… we wait." Sasuke muttered under his breath. "Keep quiet and tell me what you see."

"Okay, Sasuke-senpai." Shiro muttered excitedly. "I was born for this… my bugs can handle this perfectly."

Sasuke was frustrated. _I want to get this over with quickly._

"Okay… so… it's a creepy looking room, underground with loads of weird glass tanks with water, and tubes… there's a bunch of ninja in there." Shiro said, whilst relaying the images his bugs are sending. "Ichi… ni… san…" he counted off. "There are four people in there. "A guy in a cloak, a kid, and a weird looking lady…"

"The other one?" Sasuke asked, wondering if he should call for his other squad members.

"Uh… that's weird… one of the tanks seems to have chakra in it… but there's nothing there…" Shiro said. "I think… they're trying to open the tank somehow."

"This could be dangerous." Sasuke said. "Let's call for back up."

"Come on Uchiha-senpai!" Shiro said. "This isn't like you! They're nothing compared to us!"

"We don't know who they are, and their abilities." Sasuke said. "Never underestimate your enemy, especially when you're outnumbered."

"Fine, fine." Shiro said. "I'll contact them."

"Let's go. We should stop them from setting that guy free." Sasuke warned. "This might get complicated."

"Yosh!" Shiro said, and jumped down and into the damp, dripping tunnel. "We can finish this before the others get here!"

Sasuke almost slapped himself in frustration. _How the hell did he pass the ANBU exam?! He's just as stupid as that Usuratonkatchi. _

"Wait a minute…" Shiro said, looking a bit confused.

"They're gone." Sasuke said, no longer sensing any of the three chakras.

"But… the guy in the glass tank is still in there." Shiro hurried off to the room, and stared in awe.

"One of those people must have been good at sensing chakra." Sasuke said, while looking around the room for any sign left of them. "They found us out so quickly."

"What's so special about this tank, though?" Shiro asked. "I bet they were too scared, that's why they left so fast!"

_You better hope so. _Sasuke said. "This is one of Orochimaru's former hideouts… why is it still functioning?"

Shiro stepped closer to the glowing glass tank in the middle. "This thing… the water… it's… breathing."

"That's the problem." Sasuke said, annoyed.

"What's wrong with you, Uchiha-senpai?" Shiro commented. "I've never seen you this irritable."

A strange voice came out of nowhere. "So it is you… Uchiha Sasuke."

"Woah! The water talks! And it knows your name!"

_Shit._

_

* * *

_"Iruka-sensei…" Naruto was helping his former teacher fix things up after a day of classes.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Iruka asked, the smile in his face fading into a look of worry.

"What's up with that Hyuuga kid?" he asks, as blunt as always. "Fugaku told me that he always keeps his Byakugan active…"

"Oh…" Iruka scratched the back of his head. "…Kuroi, is a special case."

_There's that word again. 'Special'. _"What do you mean by that?"

"Since he is from the Hyuuga's main branch, he's expected to carry on the family's jutsu. You know how it is with their family traditions, right?" Iruka said, clearly having a hard time explaining things.

_I think I know too well. _Naruto thought.

"…well, Kuroi isn't exactly… fit to be a ninja." Iruka said awkwardly. He hates having to say these things about his own students. "…to put it simply, he's blind, Naruto."

"What do you mean, he's blind?!" Naruto asks, clearly confused by the idea.

"…he can't see without his Byakugan." Iruka said, trying to brush it off by fixing the same stack of scrolls for about the hundredth time.

Naruto dawns upon the realization. "…so that's why he keeps his Byakugan active all the time. Do his parents know?"

"Of course they do." Iruka said.

"So why are they still forcing him to be a ninja?" Naruto asked, putting down the pile of books a little too hard on the desk.

"…I told you, it's the tradition." Iruka replied. "...I've talked to them many times. But it seems Kuroi has made up his mind. He's going to be a ninja, no matter what." Iruka smiles. "Sounds like another kid I know."

"Heh." Naruto smirks. "Why does he want to be a ninja though?"

The smile from Iruka's face falters again. "…because… well… it's the only thing his parents ever envisioned him to be."

"That's not a good reason to be a ninja." Naruto muttered.

"It is for some people, Naruto." Iruka said, putting a hand on his former student's shoulder. "…you have to understand that. Everyone is different, and you can't always tell them what they should do or who they should be. I know you mean well, Naruto, but I don't want you to get into trouble."

Well, that hasn't stopped Naruto before, has it?

* * *

Tsunade put down the folder and bit her finger, she was trembling, with anger or fear, she didn't know. "…I can't believe it… it's all true. The old geezers have been deceiving everyone all this time!" she punches her desk in frustration, snapping it cleanly in two.

"Calm down, Tsunade-sama." Shizune says worriedly. _That's the third desk this week!_ "What are we going to do now? Are we going to let everyone know about this?"

"We can't. Not yet. The village would go into chaos…" Tsunade crossed her arms and looked at her village through the big glass windows, and she smirks. "…two can play at this game."

_I hope it turns out better than your gambling streak, though. _Shizune silently rubs Tonton's head.

* * *

"I wonder why dad's not here yet…" Fugaku said, opening a scroll at the dinner table. "Kawarimi no Jutsu."

"Ah!" Sakura nearly drops the plates she was carrying in surprise.

"Gomen, Kaa-san. I didn't mean to switch with that chair." Fugaku said, a little dissapointed. "I was supposed to switch with that log outside."

"I'm sure you'll get it perfect next time." Sakura reassures. "Don't worry about your dad. He's probably just caught up in his mission."

"I hope he comes home soon." Fugaku smiles sadly. "I just can't get this jutsu right! And it's a basic!"

"It's okay, we were taught that jutsu when we were about to graduate from the academy." Sakura said. "You're already a long way from us, back in the day."

"Thanks mom." Fugaku smiles. "Kawarimi no jutsu!" and disappears, leaving a large rock in the middle of the kitchen floor. "I'll put that back inside later mom!" he says from outside.

"No, no. I'll do it." Sakura said. She put the plates back on the counter, charges her chakra into her arms, and lifts the rock as if it was weightless.

"Wow." Fugaku said, when she saw Sakura carrying the giant boulder in her arms. "I didn't know you were so strong!"

Sakura smiled and placed the rock back in the pond with a splash. "You're dad isn't the only shinobi in the family you know." She took her son's hand and led him back inside. "You can practice later, okay? Now, change your clothes and get ready for dinner. You're all wet."

"I didn't want to substitute with a rock in our pond." Fugaku said as he made his way to his room. _Well, at least I didn't switch with the tree._

_

* * *

_"Ahh… finally!" Kiba said, slumping down onto his sleeping bag. "We're out of that desert! It messes with my sense of smell… all that wind and sand flying about."

"Yeah… and we're only a day away from Konoha." Ino said, sighing in relief as she ate some provisions. "I miss home already."

"You haven't been home that long." Kiba said. "You shouldn't have taken a mission so early."

"Are you telling me I shouldn't have gone on this mission?" Ino asked incredulously.

"No… I was just saying…" Kiba's voice trailed off. His brow furrowed in concern. "…I sense something."

"I knew a full day without getting attacked was too good to be true." Ino said, leaving her food and putting out their campfire.

"Let's go." Kiba said, and they leapt up into the treetops.

* * *

"Fifty thousand ryo." Shino muttered darkly. _The winner gets fifty thousand ryo._

It's not an amazingly big amount, but it's not something you can pick up on the streets either.

"That's a lot of money, Shino." Shibi Aburame said. "Are you sure you want to keep it here?"

"I can't think of a safer place." Shino replied to his father. "…besides, I can trust everyone here. People can easily be blinded by the allure of money." Shino said.

"I see." His father nodded in agreement. "…wise decision."

"No one but an Aburame can enter this place." Shino said, as he called all of his Kikai bugs back and snapped the door shut.

"They can die trying." Shibi muttered, as he and his son exited their clan's secret chamber.

* * *

::I noticed it's more fun to write this way, little snippets with just a few stuff hanging. It keeps me from getting stressed with my writing, and lets the plot move by itself. I hope it goes in the right direction… anyway… what's going to happen next? It looks like life in Konoha is going to be interesting again, after two years of boredom... oh... I'm sure you all know who the 'talking water' is.

::Thank you so much for reading! It's Christmas eve here… about six hours away. Merry Christmas!


	18. Chapter 18: Ulterior Motives

::Sorry it took a while. Online Gaming and Schoolwork kept me busy. Prepare for cameos!

::I still don't own Naruto, and I probably never will. That fact is starting to sink in.

* * *

"**.Chapter 18: Ulterior Motives."**

"We'll be taking this back to Konoha." A masked guy in an ANBU mask said, gesturing to his other masked companions who have just arrived.

"How're we going to do that?" Shiro asked, tapping the glass container.

"You know… you're annoying. How about I try putting you in a glass container and tap the freaking glass over and over?" The voice from the water spoke again. "If you're having trouble… you could just let me out of here, you know. Oi! Uchiha Sasuke! How long has it been since you killed that snake?"

Sasuke's brow furrowed in annoyance. He punched the glass hard, but not enough to break it. "Shut up."

"Stop tapping the damn glass like I'm some kind of goldfish! Come on! Let me outta here!" the voice kept trying to persuade him. "I've been stuck here forever! I wanna stretch my legs again, kill a few p- I mean… go out and take walk…"

"What legs?" Shiro said, eyeing the tank's liquid content.

"The ones I'm going to kick you with when I get out of this damn water prison!" the voice continued. "Oi! We're friends, right Sasuke? Orochimaru did experiments on you too… help a fellow victim out here!"

Sasuke didn't reply. He put his chokuto back in its sheath and wore his ANBU mask again. "Let's transport him, before those ninja come back. We can question him when we get to the village."

"Hai, Uchiha-taichou." All the ANBU answered, and took their positions. The one in the cat mask took out a scroll and a brush, and began to paint.

"What's he doing?" Shiro asked, as he watched the ANBU curiously.

"Keep quiet and watch." Sasuke said.

Soon a giant symbol was drawn on the scroll, and the ANBU formed a hand sign. "Ninpou: Chojuu Giga." And the symbol rises from the ink and envelops the tank, a second and a puff of smoke later, the tank is gone, with no traces left.

"Let's head back to the village." Sasuke commanded, and everyone leapt for the treetops.

"Itadakimasu!!!" Naruto splits his chopsicks excitedly as he prepared to chow down on his fiftieth bowl of Ichiraku Ramen for the day… but the first for this meal.

"N-Naruto-kun… don't eat so fast…" Hinata said quietly as she mulled over the Ramen Noodles in her bowl.

Naruto immediately stops and puts on a confused expression. "What's wrong Hinata? Was I too loud?"

"No, no… it's okay." She said with a shy smile. "…just… uh…"

"She's telling you to take it easy." Ayame, the owner's daughter said, eyeing Naruto and Hinata with a curious smile. "Slow down and take in the food… that's how Ramen should be eaten… right, Hina-chan?"

"uh… yes…" Hinata whispered.

"Oh… okay." Naruto replied. "But I think Ichiraku's still tastes awesome whether I take it slowly or eat it all in one gulp."

Ayame laughed. "That's why you're my favorite customer. Honestly, you can keep half this place running just by yourself…"

"Just wait till I become Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'll make Ichiraku Ramen Konoha's official dish."

"Does Konoha even have an official dish?" Ayame asked rhetorically. "But, either way, thanks for the offer." She then went back into the kitchen to join her father.

"So… how was your day, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, barely halfway through her bowl, while Naruto was already starting his second.

"It was okay, I guess…" Naruto said, a pondering look on his face. "…there was this one kid though…"

"Hm?"

"…yeah. Sasuke's kid was weird." Naruto recalled. "…he looks almost exactly like him… but has a totally opposite personality. I could never imagine Sasuke acting like that… he's almost _too _nice. But, then again, Sakura-chan is his mother…"

Hinata laughed a little. "Uhm… well, Fugaku-kun is only Sasuke-kun's son… he isn't Sasuke-kun."

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto said… then he suddenly put his bowl down and realized something.

"Kuroi Hyuuga…" he muttered. "…he's from your clan isn't he?"

"Yes." Hinata answers quietly. "He's the son of one of my father's cousins."

"Why is your father's cousin forcing a kid like that to be a ninja?" he asked, anger flaring up just a little.

"I don't understand why our clan's traditions are like that. They've been like that generations before we were even born. They're unfair, I know… but I can't do anything about it." She answers sadly. "I wish there was something…"

"But you're the Hyuuga heiress!" Naruto exclaims.

"Please, Naruto-kun… calm down." Hinata said with a cautious tone. "My father has been telling me that I'm not fit to lead the clan ever since I was a child. He's always favored Hanabi over me, and honestly, I think Neji should lead the clan."

"But-"

"Maybe you should try talking to him…" Hinata suggested. "…I know Kuroi wants to be a ninja. I see him training all the time."

"Yeah." Naruto said. "I guess I should start from the source."

* * *

"Who are these people anyway?" Ino asked, frustrated, as they leaped up in the tree tops.

"They don't smell familiar." Kiba replies, with Akamaru right beside him. "I wonder if they're related to that spy, or just random rouge ninja."

"Why would rouge ninja be after us? Have you made it into the Bingo Book yet?" she asked.

"I don't know. Probably." Kiba replied, smirking. "Besides, a lot of mercenaries can't wait to get their hands on some Konoha ninjas."

"What's happened while I was gone?" Ino asked rhetorically. "It's like everyone's after Konoha these days…"

"Well… that's just it." Kiba answered, deflecting a flying kunai with his own. "…since the Akatsuki's gone hiding, Konoha's probably the strongest of all the ninja villages… maybe they're worried about the balance of power and shit."

"Things are getting so complicated…" Ino said. "…I miss the days when all we had to do was pick up a scroll at the Hokage's office and do what it says."

"Yeah…" Kiba said, and then nodded. Ino jumped into the opposite direction.

_Now it's my turn, get ready Akamaru! _Kiba thought as he patiently waited for the three ninja that were tailing them. _One… two… three…_

He threw a smoke bomb and jumped right in.

"We've been found! I can't see anything." One of the ninja said.

"Stay alert… they could -!" another said, but it was drowned in a horrifying scream.

"Oi! Where are you?!" the ninja said.

"Don't worry, you're about to join them… Tsuga!" Kiba said.

"You're still as messy as ever." Ino said in mock frustration.

"I'm no hunter-nin that cleans up messes… I'm more of a tracker… you know, the find-them type. Killing them or capturing them, depending on the mission." He said. "You done yet?"

"Didn't even break a sweat." She replied. "Is it just me, or are enemy ninjas just making things a little too easy?"

"Heh. I think we'll have enough work when we get back to Konoha, if Oto is involved in this." He answered. "I just hope we won't have to raid another old laboratory…"

"I'm almost glad that I wasn't here during those times." Ino said. "I wonder who these people are… they're not wearing forehead protectors."

"Then I guess we should just bring one with us." Kiba said. "They're really getting annoying."

"As long as we don't have to carry them, then fine." She answered.

* * *

In the Hokage's office…

"Hokage-sama. Please come with me to the intelligence building." Sasuke said as he entered.

"How was your mission?" Tsunade asked, standing from her chair. "Was the Aburame up to your expectations?"

"He was good enough…" Sasuke muttered. "…he could do his job but…"

"But what?" she asked.

"…he's going to get killed if he doesn't learn to shut his mouth." He answered bluntly. _I might be the one to kill him…_

"I'll make Shizune see to it that he does learn." Tsunade said. "Sasuke… about the elders…"

"Orochimaru's former hideout was functional when we got there." He said, changing topic. "Someone's been using it."

"Did you get anything?" she asked.

"Well…" he opened the door to reveal the previous water tank.

"What is that?" Tsunade asked.

"Suigetsu, at your service." A face from the water appeared.

"One of Orochimaru's experiments." Sasuke answered.

"A human that can liquefy himself?" she said in disbelief.

"I don't think he is human." Sasuke said.

"Aww… Uchiha, don't be like that… we're friends, right?" Suigetsu said. "…let me out of here, and I'll tell you anything you want."

"How do we know you're not lying?" Sasuke asked irritably.

"Why would I lie? Orochimaru's dead… I would've killed him too, if I got the chance... you were just lucky you were his favorite…" Suigetsu said. "Let's not make this hard for ourselves…"

"What do you want in return?" Tsunade said. "You could be dangerous if we just let you go free…"

"Then keep me in your damn village! Just get me out of this freaking tank!" he replied. "There's no way I'm going back there."

"Who were those that were with you?" Sasuke asked.

"The stupid glasses-freak, Orochimaru's pet." Suigetsu said. "And that annoying red-haired woman… they think that I would join them instead of being caught by Konoha."

"Orochimaru's pet…" Sasuke muttered. "You don't mean…"

"…yeah. It's Yakushi Kabuto." He answered.

* * *

::Well, there it is!

::Thanks for reading, please review!


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